Lady Panthers finish fourth

The Saratoga Lady Panthers began their season with their first conference win since entering the 1A Southwest conference after defeating their Valley rivals, the Encampment Lady Tigers. Saratoga ended their season by placing 4th in the 1A State Championship in Casper over the weekend.

The last time the Lady Panthers qualified for State was 13 years ago, in 2005, and the last time they had advanced to semifinals was in 1991 - nearly 30 years ago.

"What a great season these girls put together," said Shayley Love, head coach of the Lady Panthers. "They set goals and achieved all of them. After not being to State in 13 years they are back on the board. They also posted the most winning season in Saratoga history which, I think, speaks volumes for their competitiveness and dedication."

The quest to semifinals and placing 4th in State was not an easy one as the girls played against the Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 28-26), the Cokeville Lady Panthers (6-25, 12-25, 11-25), the Dubois Lady Rams (25-12, 25-16, 25-18) and replayed the Lady Doggers (15-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-13, 13-15).

Saratoga vs. Lingle-Fort Laramie

On Thursday, the first game for the Lady Panthers was against No. 2 Southeast ranked Lingle-Fort Laramie (21-9). The game lasted four sets, but it was Saratoga that walked away with a win as the match ended 3-1.

Junior Aubrey Berger led the attack against the Lady Doggers with 56 attacks and 19 kills followed by Jenna Dew with 32 attacks and 11 kills and senior Tiffany Bauer with 46 attacks and seven kills. Junior Taylor Bennett had four blocks against Lingle-Fort Laramie, leading fellow juniors Dew and Berger, who had two each.

Berger served two aces against the Lady Doggers. Senior Mychaela Jackman had one ace, as did sophomore Tasia Daley, Bauer and sophomore Savannah Wells. Bauer was also the lead digger with 33 digs along with Berger, who also dug the ball out 33 times. Jackman had 24 and libero Daley had 23.

Saratoga vs. Cokeville

Friday, the Lady Panthers faced the one team they had been unable to beat in their conference; the Lady Panthers (8-0, 27-10). The purple and gold and the orange and black went toe-to-toe only for Cokeville to dispatch Saratoga in three quick sets. That didn't mean, however, the Lady Panthers of the Valley didn't put up a fight.

Bauer attacked the net the most against Cokeville with 31 attacks and four kills while Berger had three kills out of 19 attacks and sophomore Lexi Herring had three kills out of 14 attacks. Dew and Bennett each had one block against the other Lady Panthers. Daley resumed her spot as lead digger with 15 digs followed by Jackman, who had nine, and Berger, who had eight.

The loss against Cokeville sent Saratoga into the consolation bracket for Saturday, where they would face off against the Lady Rams.

Saratoga vs. Dubois

The Lady Panthers had to fight Dubois (4-4, 11-6) twice during the regional tournament the weekend before to claim their 3rd place ranking, but at State they would only see each other once. Saratoga was not about to let the Lady Rams advance any further at State and dispatched Dubois in three sets.

Bauer led the attack, with 37 attacks and seven kills, followed by Berger with 31 attacks and six kills and Bennett with 22 attacks and four kills. Bennett led in blocking with four blocks, following by Bauer with two and Wells, Dew and Berger who each had one.

Bauer led in digging with 29 digs against the Lady Rams, followed by Berger with 24 and Daley with 19. Berger and Jackman both had three aces against Dubois, Bennett had two and Bauer had one.

The victory over the Lady Rams sent Saratoga forward and put Dubois out of the tournament.

Saratoga vs. Lingle-Fort Laramie: The Sequel

For their final game on Saturday, the Lady Panthers had to take on Lingle-Fort Laramie, again. While Saratoga had been defeated by the Lady Doggers on Thursday, Ling-Fort Laramie wasn't about to lose twice. Following a five-set match, the Lady Doggers defeated Saratoga 2-3, placing 3rd at State and putting the Lady Panthers in 4th. The match, however, was well fought.

Bauer attacked the net 89 times and had 10 kills while Berger attacked 50 times and had seven kills, followed by Bennett with 40 attacks and six kills. Bennett was, again, the lead blocker with 14 blocks against the Lady Doggers while Berger had five and Dew had one. Berger led in digging, with 47 digs, followed by Bauer, with 41 digs and Daley, with 40 digs.

Daley and Jackman both had two aces against Lingle-Fort Laramie while Wells, Bennett and Bauer each had one.

"Each of these girls contributed to the success of this program," Love said. "There are many individual accomplishments and awards, but the biggest accomplishment is what they achieved as a team. This whole season would not have been possible without effort from each of them. They were so much fun to coach and I am proud of what they put together this season.

The Lady Panthers end their season having not only having taken themselves to State for the first time in over a decade, but earning the title No. 4 1A team in the state.