Lady Tigers aim for state championship

The Encampment Lady Tigers Head Coach Robin O'Leary has the recipe for a successful year – a talented starting team and an equally talented bench.

Her goal for the season is to be No. 1 at state and the only thing that stands in their way is their attitude.

"We are working on that this year," O'Leary said. Last season ended with the girls in fourth place at state-not where they wanted to be. An injury in the final game and an inexperienced bench hurt the team's chance for a repeat at third place.

With two seniors, four sophomores, two juniors and four freshman taking the court this year, O'Leary expects to see more team unity this year than last year. "They know each other better," O'Leary said.

She has given the seniors the responsibility of taking care of the team on and off the court. Alyssa Barkhurst and Cassidy Little are putting a lot of effort into leading the team off the court this year, O'Leary said.

The girls each are responsible for half of the team and they are responsible for communicating any changes to their charges and keeping their attitudes positive. If the girls have issues they are to bring them to the team leaders.

Choosing the starting lineup was difficult for O'Leary this year. "But, that is a good problem to have, and I am not going to complain."

Last weekend, that talent was put to the test and the Encampment Lady Tigers showed they are competing at the same level they were when the season ended last year at state competition.

The team won every game in two sets except for one and that was against Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers, a county and conference rival.

On Friday morning, the Lady Tigers beat Guernsey-Sunrise, 25-17 and 25-14. They played against Dubois Friday afternoon. Last season, the Lady Tigers beat Dubois at regionals to earn a spot at state. Friday, they dominated the Rams 25-11, 25-6.

Friday evening, the Tigers played two close sets, losing the first set by 1 point, and winning the second set by 2 points. Unfortunately, the Lady Rattlers got the best of the Tigers in the third set 16-25. Both teams had good serving runs at different times in the first two sets, but in the final set, the teams were tied at 16 when LSRV had a run on serves and took the set. "The hitters couldn't get the ball down," O'Leary said. Tigers' Sierra Loftice had a good run against LSRV scoring 22 points of 22 serves.

Saturday morning, the Lady Tigers were back in winning form and won against Big Piney 25-20, 25-16 before taking on the Farson-Eden team and winning 25-21, 25-10.

"We had a great week and it was a good start to the season," O'Leary said of the tournament play.

The girls had good attitudes and played selflessly, O'Leary added.

She was also pleased to get a couple of the girls off the bench.

Freshman Tiger Paige Powell was phenomenal over the weekend, O'Leary said. "If you weren't impressed with her performance over the weekend, I don't know what it would take."

Powell has height and strength on her side. As a hitter she smacks the ball past her opponents at a speed that is difficult to return, a talent she shares with her sister McKenzie, who is a junior this year .

Sierra Loftice, the other junior, has shown lots of promise the last two years and last weekend she was up to her usual tricks as the setter for her team.

Barkhurst and her sister Hailey had good performances with their kills over the weekend, as did Little.

Last year, the team adapted their play to the opponent. This year, O'Leary said she is focusing on improvement and just trying to improve themselves.

Thursday, the Platte Valley will have an opportunity to see how the Lady Tigers match up against the 2A Saratoga Lady Panthers, when the Tigers host the match at 4:30 p.m.

Friday, the Lady Tigers host their first conference match against Farsen/Eden at 4 p.m.