Undefeated Cougars handle 'Stangs
Mullen gets swept by high-end Cherokee Trail, but head coach Oliver applauds team's improvement.
AURORA – Round 2 for Mullen through the gauntlet of sorts that sits atop the Centennial League resulted in another sweep, but the necessary growth for the Mustangs also continued.
Host Cherokee Trail handled Mullen 25-13, 25-11, 25-17 in a Friday sweep in league to remain undefeated and knock the Mustangs down to 3-2 in the new Season C.
However, head coach Jeff Oliver is seeing what he needs to see from a roster that entered play just days ago with all of one player with varsity experience.
“The thing is,” Oliver said, “we were missing a setter, a middle hitter and another. So missing three girls hurts and we had to put girls in different spots, but they did a good job stepping up.”
The Cougars sit atop the league at 5-0 and are a legitimate threat to take it all in Class 5A. And when the 4A Mustangs showed some fight down the stretch of the match, it sat well with Oliver.
“I was happy with the improvement they showed in the last game,” he said. “They got better as the match went on, they got competitive and that’s great. It’s us getting better and that’s what we want.”
With Anna Oancia, Kiley Lawrence and Lydia Gammon either at Kairos (on retreat) or ill, the Mustangs had a shorter bench for rotation. Still, they showed life in the second game before knotting the score four times in the third.
Even with falling to Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek down the stretch of the first go-round in league, the Mustangs can bank some experience and Oliver can confirm growth.
“These two are the first- and second-place teams,” Oliver said. “But we improved, which is what we want to do. We’re young, so it’s good to get these matches.”
In fact, the Mustangs will get three matches in a row next week – Monday at Eaglecrest, 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday home vs. Grandview, 6:30 p.m., that will wrap up the first half of league; and Wednesday at Smoky Hill, 6:30 p.m.
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