“We have worked very hard over the past couple of months and to see [our work] pay off like that during a pretty tough stretch of opponents is refreshing… it feels good!” said Delaney St. Pierre, 12, of her reaction to Coronado volleyball’s first week of October competition. The Cougars had a good week indeed, going 3-0 against Liberty, Palmer and CSCS, beating all three teams in straight sets.

On Tuesday, 10/3, the Cougars trekked to Colorado Springs’ east-side to take on the Liberty Lancers; in progressively tighter sets, the Cougars bested the Lancers three sets to none, 25-13, 25-21, and 25-18. The team was led in kills by senior Mara Abernethy who racked up 12 kills at 0.733 clip on the match, followed by fellow senior Jaelyn Hershberger, who accumulated 9 kills over the course of the match. St. Pierre, the team’s setter, dished out 26 assists during the game, while libero Bethany Heitland, 12, contributed 12 digs to the effort. Hershberger also accumulated 6 digs and 2 aces in the game, while Abernethy contributed 4 blocks.

In their second Colorado Springs Metro League (CSML) matchup of the week, the Cougars took on the Palmer Terrors at home on Coronado volleyball’s annual Pink-Out Night. Hershberger said, “Our Pink-out night [serves] to represent and give a voice to anyone and everyone who is affected by breast cancer.” The Cougars raised over $450 in donations from the match, which were donated to the Side-Out Foundation.

The Cougars took down the Terrors in flying fashion 25-17, 25-15, 25-7. Most remarkable about the Cougars’ night was the team’s sheer diversity of offense and strength of serving; Hershberger lead the Cougars with six kills, followed by Morgan Darnall, 12, with five kills, and St. Pierre, Abernethy, and Valerie Harvey, 12, with five kills apiece. The team accrued 13 aces as a team, five of which were by freshman Ella Moceri.

In their final match of the week, the Cougars took on the Colorado Springs Christian School Lions. Continuing the previous match’s trend of dominant serving, the Cougars maintained strong leads for almost the entirety of the game, triumphing over the Lions 25-17, 25-8, 25-14. Coronado proved so dominant from the service line that junior right side Lacey Redinger had not only 4 aces, but a total of 24 service attempts, signifying several long runs for the Cougars. The team’s pressure at the service line created opportunities for the team’s front row, St. Pierre said,“Because of our serving, block[ing] has been much easier…we’ve been able to get a big block up on every opposing hitter.” Abernethy once again led the Cougars in kills, boasting 13 kills on the match, followed by St. Pierre with 8 kills and Redinger with 7 kills. Heitland and Hershberger combined for a total of 25 digs while St. Pierre dished 30 dimes.

Heading into their second week of CSML play, St. Pierre said, “the goal for the next couple of games and really for the rest of the season is to just keep improving and working together as a team. As happy as we are with how things are going, we know that we still have a ways to go. So we expect everybody on the team to show up, ready to work every practice. We know what we are capable of, and while we aren’t quite there yet, we need to capitalize on every chance we get to improve. We want to be the best team out there. That’s our #1 goal. One thing that’s often overlooked is how much fun we are having too. I think it’s also a pretty big goal of ours to just keep playing the sport that we’ve all fallen in love with, and to relish every opportunity and moment that we have together.”

Catch the Cougars in their next league match at home on 10/10 against Fountain Fort Carson at 6 P.M.