Lady Panthers enter regionals with No. 3 seed

The Saratoga Lady Panthers (4-4, 12-9 overall) improved their game against the Southeast Cyclones (4-4, 16-7 overall) this weekend, winning the match (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22) despite the absence of starter Haley Soles, who sprained an ankle during warm-up on Friday.

With this win against Southeast and a loss (25-20, 17-25, 13-25, 18-25) against Pine Bluffs (8-0, 14-8) Saturday, the Panthers were tied for the No. 2 seed going into regionals. The tie-breaker came down to games against Lingle/Ft. Laramie, head coach Shayley Love said, which the Panthers had split. The Cyclones won for the second time against Fort Lingle/Laramie last Thursday, giving them the No. 2 seed.

The victory against Southeast started out slowly as the team adjusted to Soles' injury, but the girls quickly adjusted to having some new players on the court. Tiffany Bauer, freshman, and Bryce Schwartzkopf, sophomore, each played one set. Mychaela Jackman played as libero and improved her stats, digging 29 times. Shaelee Hamann, a typically strong player, stepped up her game to accommodate Soles' absence, showing energy and powerful moves to place the ball. "They had great energy and just played really consistent," S. Love said.

Meredith Lincoln, Sierra Schutte and Kylie Theesfeld were the top players in kills, taking 10, 7 and 6 offensive points, respectively. Lincoln made 27 digs, active and attentive around the court. Mati Love assisted 26 times.

Soles sat out again for the game on Saturday in order to keep her rested for regionals this weekend, S. Love said. While the Panthers lost the match against the Hornets, S. Love feels that the girls' game was competitive against the conference leader, winning the first set. "Not having Haley (Soles), the girls compensated well but she definitely is a huge asset to us especially in the back row, because she is a great defensive player," S. Love said, adding that the team lost some momentum.

Kennison Spiering, sophomore, had some court time with the varsity girls during the Pine Bluffs match. With M. Love and Lincoln each digging 14 and Jackman and Theesfeld digging 15, the total for the team was 71, showing a high energy defense. On the court, the netters moved quickly to keep the ball in the air, with Lincoln and M. Love working hard to make saves. Lincoln made 11 kills against the Hornets.

In the week leading up to regionals, S. Love will be working to bring the players into focus and bringing Soles back up to playing health. "All in all, they had a good weekend. As we head into regionals everybody's zero and zero so nobody has anything right now. We all start with a clean slate." S. Love said. "As we move into this next weekend, I feel like we'll be really competitive and be able to hold our own when it comes time to those first few games at regionals."

The Saratoga Lady Panthers head off to Sheridan for regionals on Friday, playing their first game against the Bighorn Rams (6-2, 16-12 overall) at 11 a.m.