Tigers take three

The Encampment Lady Tigers (3-0, 14-1) had a tough schedule last week, but they did not let that deter them from winning three matches on Sept. 29, Oct. 1 and 3.

The first two matches were against non-conference foes, with Saturdays game against Cokeville (0-2, 9-10 scores missing), who is in the 1A Southwest conference with Encampment.

The win against Cokeville was sweet, since the last time the teams played each other was at state, where Cokeville went on to take the state championship for the fourth consecutive year. Cokeville has won the state championship 21 times since 1985.

The last time Encampment's volleyball team had a state title was in 1977.

With Encampment ranking second in the state according to MaxPreps, behind Kaycee, the team is going to use these final four weeks before regionals to continue to improve their skills.

This weekend, the Encampment Lady Tigers will play at the Wind River Invite. Little Snake River Valley Rattlers will be at the invite, Lady Tigers Head Coach Robin O'Leary said. Although, O'Leary does not know who else will be there, she is hoping her team has a chance to play against some teams they haven't seen this season.

The Lady Tigers only loss this season has been against the Little Snake River Valley Rattlers - which was a non-conference game during the Saratoga Pool Play in August - so playing each other on a neutral court to see how they match up should be interesting for both teams.

On Sept. 30, the Lady Tigers traveled to Walden, Colo., and won in three sets, 25-11, 25-12, 25-15.

On Oct. 1, Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners (9-7 1A Southeast) had a solid defense, O'Leary said, and the Lady Tigers got a bit of a work out on several rallies. HEM sent back some hard-hit kills to stay in the play, keeping the crowd cheering for both sides.

"(HEM) challenged us," O'Leary said. Despite the challenge, the Lady Tigers scored another non-conference win 25-14, 25-10, 25-16.

HEM's Cheyenne Hunter proved to be a valuable asset to her team. At 6 foot, she was able to block several of the Lady Tiger's hits. The Lady Tigers adjusted their hits to go over Hunter, but the back row was ready too.

The first set had several great rallies between the two teams, and made for a great competition. HEM scored 14 points against the Lady Tigers' 25. In the second set, Lady Tigers' Alyssa Barkhurst had three aces, which kept HEM scoreless for the first 6 points the Lady Tigers' had.

Sierra Loftice, who can serve her ball to the weakest spot on the defense, scored 12 points before the Lady Miners had a chance to score their second point of the set.

HEM's Jessie Friederick, at 5' 2" would prove to be a challenge for the Lady Tigers as she helped the Lady Miners score more points with her serve, scoring 4 points to the Tigers' 1 point.

With a comfortable lead, O'Leary started rotating her junior varsity team to finish out the set and the Tigers won 25-10.

The third set, HEM started with the lead, but it didn't take long for the Tigers to catch up, winning the set 25-16.

The junior varsity players played four on four against HEM and won 25-12. They only played one set before the varsity match.

In the Cokeville match Saturday, the Lady Tigers dominated the first set with A. Barkhurst beginning the serve. She scored 13 points before the Cokeville Lady Panthers had a chance to score. The Lady Tigers kept the lead throughout the set and finished 25-14, thanks to the Encampment hitters.

The second set was hard fought, but the Lady Tigers pulled the win 25-21. The set was close for the first 14 points before the Tigers developed a 6-point lead to give them a little wiggle room. The hitters were right on, getting past Cokeville's first line of defense. The Tigers were at 23 points when errors plagued them, allowing the Panthers to close the score 23-21 before the Tigers scored the last two points to win.

The third set was even more intense as Cokeville pulled out all the stops and won in overtime 25-27. The teams stayed at a tie through much of the set. The Tigers had a 4-point lead and would keep it for several points before Cokeville caught up and took the lead. It was a tied game at 25 points when the Tigers hit the ball out of bounds. The next point, the bump went rogue and the Tigers lost 25-27.

Not to be discouraged, the Lady Tigers only allowed the Cokeville Panthers to take the lead once at the beginning of the fourth set. It did not take long for the Lady Tigers to drive up the score and keep an 8-point lead through much of the set. The Cokeville Panthers closed in toward the end of the set, but it was not even and the Tigers won 25-21.

O'Leary said she watched the Cokeville Panthers carefully, since they will not be playing them again until regionals and state competition.

"Up until this game, we were better at blocking," O'Leary said. "We focused on hitting last week and the blocking dropped. That is normal. Our goal is to keep the things we don't work on from falling too much while will hone the other skills."

While their blocking may have suffered a little this week, their hitting was right on. O'Leary is working with the setters from both the junior varsity team and the varsity team to have them look at the match up and recognize what hitters are strong and which ones are struggling.

She is also working with the hitters to get them more consistent.

"I am feeling really good about the girls. We are still working on things during practice. I write down what needs to be worked on during the game and we address them during the practice," O'Leary said.

She is really impressed with her JV team, as they only have five players now, with Paige Powell moving up to all-around on the varsity team.

"They are remarkable. They play their best and they don't have any excuses," O'Leary said they could easily use the excuse they only have five players. The JV team just regroups and says they can do better.

O'Leary is also pleased with the camaraderie of both teams. "I am super impressed with them," O'Leary said. "On the floor, they are owning up to mistakes to figure out how to fix it. They don't get down on themselves or each other and that is the number one thing that helps the team."

The girls next match is at the Wind River Invite beginning Friday, with game times to be announced later in the week.