Lady Tigers get scrappy

The Encampment Lady Tigers set their baseline for the season on Friday as they attended the Saratoga Invite and played against the Dubois Lady Rams (21-12, 21-6), the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns (21-16, 21-18), the St. Stephens Lady Eagles (21-13, 16-21, 15-11) and the Saratoga Lady Panthers A (11-21, 17-21) and B (20-22, 21-19, 15-7) teams.

"It was a great day. I think we came out raring to go and ready to play and went 4-and-1, so we're pretty happy about that," said Robin Brown, Encampment Lady Tigers head coach. "Not all of our wins were pretty, but they kept fighting till the end and kept their scrappiness up so we could finish them out." 

Lady Tigers vs. Lady Rams

The first game of the day for Encampment was against the Lady Rams and would be two sets. The nine member team rose to the challenge and were able to dispatch Dubois in the first match 21-12 and would allow the Lady Rams to score even less in the second match, as the Lady Tigers won 21-6. 

Early on, it became clear that the freshman members of the team were not going to let themselves be intimidated at the start of the season. Peyton Munroe, Allison Bromley and Cora Schroeder were all quick to attempt returns and attack the net.

Lady Tigers vs. Lady Pronghorns

Following their dispatch of Dubois, the Lady Tigers faced their upcoming conference foe, Farson-Eden. Encampment was able to keep the game down to two sets. Like the one against the Lady Rams, they prevented the Lady Pronghorns from running off with the score. 

In the first set, the Lady Tigers beat Farson-Eden 21-16. In the second set, the Lady Pronghorns tried to get away, but would only increase by two as they fell to Encampment 21-18.

Lady Tigers vs. Lady Eagles

Following their dispatch of Dubois and Farson-Eden, the day got a little harder for the Lady Tigers as they moved on to face St. Stephens. While the first games were over in two sets, the Lady Eagles put up a fight for Encampment and extended the game to three matches.

While the Lady Tigers were able to ground St. Stephens in the first set with a score of 21-13, the Lady Eagles came back for a win in the second set with a score of 16-21, sending the game into a third match. St. Stephens kept it close, but the Lady Tigers pulled out a win as they ended the set with a score of 15-11.

Lady Tigers vs.Lady Panthers

The first game between Encampment and Saratogas B-team took place between the Lady Rams and the Lady Pronghorns and was with the Lady Panthers' B team. The Saratoga girls put up a fight for the Lady Tigers as the first set ended 20-22. Encampment, however, regrouped and kept ahead of Saratoga with a final score of 21-19 and headed into the third set, where they would win 15-7.

The final game between the Valley cats was also the final game of the weekend and saw the Lady Panthers' A team get a win in two sets. In the first set, Encampment fell by 10 points as they lost 11-21. The Lady Tigers clawed their way back to gain six more points in the second set, ending it with a score of 17-21. 

"I was proud of the freshmen, especially. They came out and they didn't hesitate at all, they just swung away like they have been at practice and, sometimes, the first varsity outing you get the nerves and they play a little hesitant, but these girls didn't do that," Brown said.

Heading into the regular season, the Lady Tigers will have hosted Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners on Sept. 4. They will hit the road to play the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers at 4 p.m. in Baggs on Sept. 13