Lady Panthers prevail

For the first time this season the Lady Panthers volleyball team kept their composure and finished strong, bringing home two wins.

The varsity squad played with composure and took down Wyoming Indian in three straight sets at home on Friday (25-20, 25-15, 25-18). Coach Shaley Love said that Wyoming Indian has a decent program this year but her girls played consistently and stayed focused on the set at hand.

The conference match in Lusk on Saturday was hard fought with Saratoga winning the first set 25-17, losing the second and third sets (23-25, 22-25). Saratoga rallied and "in the fourth set they just came on fire. The defense was strong," Love said. The Lady Panthers took command and finished the set 25-15. Saratoga controlled the fifth set from the beginning and came out on top 15-11.

Love said Lusk hit off the net which made it hard to read the ball, but the defense adjusted by the fourth set. Another adjustment the girls had to make was in the way the game was being played. "Lusk is scrappy, but not quick," Love said. She had to get the Lady Panthers to speed the game up and play at their pace. Once they did that, Saratoga played consistently and found their rhythm according to Love.

"We just talked about that you have to play one set at a time. We have got to take care of our job right now before moving on," Love told the team during huddles. She said once they started to play their style of volleyball it was nice.

Love hopes these games bode well for the future of the team and that they will be in top form for the state tournament.

The Lady Panthers will take on their Platte Valley rivals when they play the Encampment Tigers at 4 p.m. Oct. 3 in Encampment. The Lady Panthers will head to Lusk to play the Niobrara County High School Tigers. The match begins at 1 p.m. on Oct. 4.