Tigers climb rankings with win

The Lady Tigers moved their ranking from No. 4 to No. 3 of the WyoPreps' ranking of the 1A Southwest Conference last week with their win against Little Snake River.

The Laramie Plainsman sophomores and the 1A conference rival Rock River Longhorns (0-1) (2-1) volleyball teams were no match for the Encampment Lady Tigers (1-0) (10-1) last week.

The Lady Tigers hosted the Laramie Sophomores Tuesday night and won in three sets 25-11, 25-10, 25-15.

Tigers head coach Robin O'Leary said she is grateful her team comes ready to play at every game. "They don't have to work up to their standard of play, they just come out and play."

O'Leary said it is something the team has been working on so when they play the "super tough teams" they don't find themselves down.

Lady Tiger Sierra Loftice had an impressive eight aces throughout the match completing 18 of her 19 serves. Loftice credits her coach with her ability to serve well. "I watch my coach and she tells me where to serve." Loftice will serve deep and as the teams shuffle back, she then serves the ball shorter.

McKenzie Powell, Alyssa Barkhurst and Cassidy Little had impressive statistics against the Laramie sophomores with their hits and kills at the net.

Powell had a 100 percent on her six hits. Little hit 13 of 14 attempts of her hits and A. Barkhurst had 17 of 18 hits at the net.

A. Barkhurst led in the kills against Laramie with seven kills. Little had five kills, with Powell and Cheyanne Jordan scoring with two kills. Courtney James, Hailey Barkhurst, Micaiah Pantle and Makayla Wilder also scored with one kill each.

The JV team was able to play against Laramie during the match. O'Leary replaces the varsity team with the entire JV team so that her varsity team plays together as much as possible. "There is not a huge gap between the ability of my JV and varsity and I want to give them the experience so when we get to regionals and state and we need to sub somebody ... they have the experience at the higher level."

O'Leary said she is pleased with the fact her players are very athletic and they are also "great people". "They are great teammates to each other and it has been long time since we have seen that," O'Leary said. "That is the highlight of our season is their compassion for their team."

Saturday's match up against the Longhorns was very much like the Sept. 16 match against the Laramie Plainsman-lopsided. The varsity team easily beat the Lady Longhorns 25-11, 25-18, 25-10. The only loss 22-25 was when the junior varsity team played in the third set.

The Lady Tigers dominated the first game allowing the Longhorns only 5 points to their 18. The teams would trade four points, but Encampment was too far ahead to make a difference as the score was 22-9. The Longhorns would get two more points to the Lady Tigers one before the Tigers moved in for the win when setter Sierra Loftice hit the ball over the net rather than to a teammate.

Loftice would score several points with that move Saturday. Loftice said she watches for the holes on the opposite side of the net. When she observes the hitters on the opposite team creating a hole, she will send the ball over the net instead of setting it for a Tiger hitter. The surprise tactic would score a point almost every time. Loftice added she is very grateful for her team and coaches.

In the second set, Rock River would the game close, but the Tigers would soon pull ahead and win the match 25-18.

In the third set, O'Leary replaced the varsity team with the JV team to give them the varsity experience. The set was more evenly matched as the JV honed their skills against the Longhorn varsity team. The score was tied during the first part of the set to 7 points before the Lady Longhorns took the lead and kept 3 points ahead of the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers would tie the score again. The JV played some good volleys during the end of the game before losing 22-25.

After getting a rest during the third set, the varsity Tigers came back strong and score 5 unanswered points before the Longhorns could get a point on the board. Then the Lady Tigers scored another 8 points before the Longhorns answered with 2 points. The Lady Tigers continued to outplay and outscore the Lady Longhorns. The winning point was scored by Powell with a kill.

The Lady Tigers played North Park last night, but results were not available as of press time. Friday the Lady Tigers travel to Farson-Eden.