Mustangs set for volleyball playoffs

 

Unlucky? The Mullen volleyball team has been unlucky and not necessarily just in the categories of wins and losses.

No, the injury problems of various Mustangs have been the issue. And while they certainly have affected the team’s outcomes, the bigger issue is getting them healthy and ready to play.

“It has been kind of rough,” Mullen head coach Jeff Oliver said. “All fluky things.”

He’s not kidding. Begin with multiple concussions. In volleyball, no less. Throwh in the usual bouts of sickness, a ligament tear here and there, and the need to bring up players from the junior-varsity team and Mullen has had a couple of seasons with zero luck.

Still, Oliver said without complaint, “we have to play through these things.”

The Mustangs will be in the Class 4A Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8, at host Discovery Canyon in Colorado Springs. Mullen is seeded No. 28. The host Thunder is No. 9 and the third team in the group, Battle Mountain, is No. 16.

Oliver called it “a tough group ... we’re ready to go. We had a good scrimmage on Wednesday, so I think we’re in a good spot, ready to go.”

Mullen’s most-recent match was against the Thunder in the Palmer Ridge Tournament the past weekend and it fell 2-0 (25-17, 25-18).

“Hopefully,” Oliver said, “this time we can beat them.

“I think we have a decent chance if we come out and play like we scrimmaged. It’s not going to be easy, but I think we can do it.”

There are 12 sites with three teams each. Two victories are required to advance to the Denver Coliseum for the next week’s Colorado Tournament.

Here’s a link for the schedule and results: https://coloradopreps.com/4a-regional-volleyball-results/