Peyton outlasts CSS in up-and-down volleyball match

Momentum rose and fell Saturday like an ocean liner on 30-foot swells, but Peyton was able to ride the waves and pull out a league-opening victory. The 6-1 Panthers won 15-25, 25-19, 26-24, 18-25, 15-8 at Colorado Springs School.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game, CSS is always a dominant force,“ coach Jacqueline Goodman said. “We had a score to settle, last year we played them in the pigtail game and they beat us in the fourth game 25-5.”

Colorado Springs School (7-1) came out strong as junior Maddy Mason would not be denied. Mason, along with the rest of CSS, did not allow Peyton to get comfortable, or get its offense clicking.

Peyton eventually turned things around in the second set as it came out energized and alive, while CSS came out flat. Peyton used the energy to gain a 17-13 lead and would not allow CSS to do anything but attempt to chip away at it.

“Blocking is not our strong suit, but they can jump and they stayed with her (Mason) and contained the ball,” Goodman said.

With the second-game victory, Peyton was able to trap the wind in their sails and keep the teeter-tottering momentum on their side.

Colorado Springs School kept Peyton on its toes, and did not let it get anything easy, but unforced errors were hard to overcome.

“I thought we lacked some overall maturity out there, they came out great but when they got challenged they didn’t respond so well,” CSS coach Kyong Lee said.

Mason and her teammates struggled with steadiness throughout the night.

“Overall I was pleased with her effort, but she definitely struggled emotionally to keep it together and play consistently,” Lee said.

That did not stop the team from coming back to Mason repeatedly for her booming spikes that often reverberated off the court’s walls.

“She (Mason) is definitely our go-to hitter, so when she has a tough night then the emotion of the team reflects that,” Lee said.

Mason had 12 kills and though it could be argued that CSS had some better players, Peyton showed that it’s not necessarily the team with the best players that wins, it’s the team that best navigates the swells.