RMAC Crossover Tournament set to begin on Friday

by David Mejia

Junior Brittany Muchmore and the Grizzlies kick off conference action on Friday against Colorado Mines.

ALAMOSA, Colo. – If it’s a smorgasbord of volleyball you want, you’re more than likely to find it in Alamosa this Friday and Saturday.

The Adams State College volleyball team will host a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Crossover Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Plachy Hall and at the Alamosa High School gymnasium.

The two-day tournament will feature Adams State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Western State and Regis.

Adams State has started slow under second-year head coach Lindy Mortensen, posting a 1-8 overall record thus far. The coach has tried several combinations in the pre-season matches, but will have to settle on a starting lineup and her position reserves very shortly.

“We need to settle on some positions so we become more consistent,” coach Mortensen said. “I need to make those decisions and then we need to go with them. And that doesn’t mean that things are set in stone for the rest of the season, but that’s what we’re working on this week in practice.”

The RMAC Crossover is not only the opening of conference play, but it means jostling for position early in the season. Any team that completes the tournament in good shape will certainly be off to a good start.

“This tournament is very important,” Mortensen said. “It’s nice because our preseason record is poor and it’s almost like a new start and it gives us a chance to get things together and start again.”

The fact that the Grizzlies will be playing at home for the first time this season is not lost on the team or the coach. Adams State has played its first nine matches away from home.

“It’s really important for us to play at home,” the coach said. “We’ve been traveling these past two weekends, so I think it’s going to be nice to play on the court that we practice on and for the kids to sleep in their own beds.

“It will be nice to play in front of our community. I think they’ll be excited and ready to go.”

The Grizzlies will face Colorado Mines on Friday at 7 p.m. in Plachy Hall. ASC will then take on Colorado Christian on Saturday morning, beginning at 11 a.m. before finishing off the weekend with a 7 p.m. match against Regis Saturday evening.