Lady Tigers claw to top

Halfway into the volleyball season the Encampment Lady Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the state according to the WyoPreps website. With a 2-0 conference record and 12-1 overall, the Lady Tigers are behind Hulett, of the Northeast conference. Hulett has a 4-0, 10-6 record.

The Lady Tigers easily won their conference game against Farson-Eden on the road Friday night proving they are playing just as well on the road as they are in the home court.

The Lady Tigers head coach Robin O'Leary said she never overlooks any of the competing teams. "(Farson/Eden) plays a defense that is kind of tough for us. We have sometimes have a hard time putting the ball away against them," O'Leary said.

That was not the case Friday night.

Four 100 percent serving percentages by Alyssa Barkhurst, Hailey Barkhurst, Coutrney James and Cassidy Little had a lot to do with that win.

"Our serving is getting much more consistent, which is very helpful," O'Leary said.

The foursome had some pretty good company with Sierra Loftice with a 95 percent serving efficiency and McKenzie Powell with a 90 percent serving efficiency.

A. Barkhurst and H. Barkhurst led the team in hits, with 20 hits of 21 attempts for A. Barkhurst and 10 hits out of 13 attempts by H. Barkhurst.

Little hit all seven of her attempts with Powell hitting seven of nine attempts. Setter Sierra Loftice got her licks in with two hits. Loftice hit both of her attempts. "Both junior varsity and varsity played consistently during these games," O'Leary said. "It was encouraging to see their intensity level up. Our serve receive has been really struggling, so we fill focus on that this week. However, we were still able to set and hit the ball agressively."

A. Barkhurst continues to lead in her kills with 10 kills during the three set win, 25-11, 25-9, 25-10. The statistics for this match can be seen at http://www.saratogasun.com.

This was the second conference win for the Lady Tigers.

Sept. 23, the Lady Tigers went up against Colorado's North Park team and were able to test their skills as a team against the junior-laden team.

The Lady Tigers scored the first 3 points in the set before North Park tied it up. It didn't take long for the Lady Tigers to step it up and outscore the Lady Cats. When the front line defense wasn't able to block the Lady Cats' hits, the back line was making sure the Lady Cats did not score the point and the Lady Tigers soon took the lead. The Lady Tigers won the first set 25-16.

It was a cat fight from the beginning of the second set as the Lady Tigers and the Lady Cats battled it out at the net. The score stayed tied until the Lady Cats pulled ahead 17-21. The Lady Tigers would lose the set 18-25.

Not deterred by a loss, the Tigers would take the lead in the third set and keep a 10 point lead through most of the set before the Lady Cats were back in the game. The Tigers won the third set 25-18.

The final set would keep the fans on the edge of their seats, as it stayed tied throughout much of the game. The Lady Cats gained 5 points on the Lady Tigers, 16-21 when O'Leary called a timeout.

"I told them to concentrate on one point at a time and to find that point," O'Leary said of the timeout.

After the time out, the Lady Tigers stepped up their offense and defense and took over the game and stopped the Lady Cats from scoring another point. The Tigers won 25-21.

H. Barkhurst proved to be a valuable asset to the team with her hits against the Lady Cats. H. Barkhurst said the team does circuits during practice and they work their legs, arms and abs. With each game, H. Barkhurst appears to jumping higher and hitting the ball harder.

H. Barkhurst said the fourth set was a little hard, but the team always works for the point and pushes by one point.

Statistics from the game against North Park game were not available by press time.

Friday, the Encampment Lady Tigers hosts the Saratoga Lady Panthers. O'Leary said her team will be working on their defense in preparation for the Saratoga team. "Most of (Saratoga's) points came from the offense when we last played," O'Leary said Game time is at 4 p.m.