Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Katie Carter was looking for the spike.

All she could get, however, was a tip but it ended up being good enough.

The tip was open so she dropped a ball beyond the reach of diving Demons defenders, giving the Sailors the Western Slope League championship and some much-needed confidence as they head into the upcoming district tournament.

"We're definitely right where we want to be," Carter said. "I don't think anyone could beat us, and that's they way we all feel."

Glenwood seemed like the most likely candidate to end Steamboat's hopes for an undefeated league season as the Demons won last year's crown and entered Saturday's match as the only team to take the Sailors to three games this year.

But two different teams showed up Saturday.

Sailors coach Wendy Hall was a little worried about how her seven seniors would handle the emotion surrounding what could be their final game at home.

Her nerves were calmed, though, when the Sailors pulled away from the Demons early in the first game on their way to a 15-6 win.

They took the second game 15-10 to secure the title.

"I thought we would have too much emotion and adrenaline and need to settle down," Hall said. "We were on our game from the start. When we're on we can dominate people."

The Demons a team Hall said is one of the best in the state became the latest witness to a confidence and level of play that any Sailors opponent will be hard pressed to overcome.

"Steamboat is a great team," Glenwood coach Michelle Guillot said. "Stepping in to play in their gym is difficult."

The Demons didn't help themselves either, particularly in Game 1.

Highly touted outside hitter Amber Sutherland had few attacks. When she did touch the ball, it was usually on defense.

Service and hitting errors prevented Glenwood from making it a game at all.

"They had trouble with their serve," Hall said. "Part of their game plan is to put it on the back line. When you're struggling, it gives a team free sideouts and that made it easier for us."

Guillot said it was magnified in the second game when missed serves or errors halted little runs.

"All week long we practiced error free," Guillot said. "I felt when we were not making errors, we were in this match."

The Demons actually got to within two points at 10-12 in the second game, behind solid serves and good net play, but Steamboat turned to Carter to get things back on track.

One kill gave her team the serve.

A second kill gave her team 13 points.

Carter's solo block brought on match point.

The Demons called timeout and Hall told Carter that the tip was open because Glenwood's defenders were back waiting for her to attack.

As much as Carter wanted to do exactly what the Demons were expecting, she listened to her coach and went for the sure point.

Carter led the Sailors with 13 kills and four blocks.

Abby Fritz had five kills, while Allison Griffing had three kills and two blocks.

Lizzie Sack contributed two kills, and Bayli Stillwell had one block and one kill.

Becca Gray had one block and 20 assists.

Following the match, Hall singled out Val Finch and Stillwell.

Stillwell, usually a lock for six or seven kills, was held in check offensively, largely because she was paired up against Sutherland.

On the flip side, Stillwell played a part in Sutherland not being a factor offensively.

Finch, a defensive specialist, is often unnoticed because teams usually don't hit hard enough or often enough for great digs to become a crucial part of the game.

Her play Saturday, however, stood out.

"Sometimes I feel like, 'What am I supposed to do?'" Finch said. "Now that we're in the postseason, it's a whole new level."

And, a whole new season.

With the league title captured, the Sailors can focus on their ultimate goal of reaching the state tournament.

"We couldn't be feeling better about ourselves right now," Hall said. "Now we need to remember that we need to get in and practice and improve, even if it's fine tuning at this point."