Saratoga scores twice

The Saratoga Lady Panthers snagged their first conference win last week as they hosted two games in the Panther Den. On Thursday, Saratoga welcomed the Rock River Lady Longhorns (2-4) for a homecourt victory. Friday, they hosted their conference and Valley rivals, the Encampment Lady Tigers (2-3, 0-2), and dispatched them in three sets.

For Head Coach Shayley Love, the important thing is seeing the team begin to mesh on the court in the early part of the season.

Lady Panthers vs. Lady Longhorns

While Saratoga took care of the Lady Longhorns in three sets, Rock River didn't make it easy. In the first set, the Lady Panthers led by only 4 points for a score of 25-21 while the second set saw a score of 25-20 and the third set was 25-22. Each set saw Saratoga one point away from finishing, only for the Lady Longhorns to evade the Lady Panthers claws for a few more serves.

"Rock River is a scrappy team and I think that's what they have going for them. Not that they can't hit and do all of that other stuff, they just get to playing so scrappy and I think, sometimes, we get a little too lax in that area," said Love. "They let them back in the game a couple of times but, overall, they finally just got their defense solid and figured out 'We can't stand here and watch, we're going to have to play.'"

Sophomore Whitney Bennett led the Lady Panthers in attacking the net with 10 kills against Rock River. Fellow sophomore Oliva Everett followed with 6 kills and sophomore Shelby Knotwell had 4 kills. Seniors Savannah Wells and Sam Duke also had 4 kills against the Lady Longhorns.

In serving, senior Lexi Herring led the team with 4 aces against Rock River and was followed by Duke, Bennett, Everett and senior Tasia Daley with 1 ace each. Herring also maintained a 100 percent serving percentage across 17 serves while Bennett maintained 100 percent over 11 serves.

The Lady Panthers stepped up their blocking game on Thursday, with Bennett, Duke and Everrett each with 1 block against the Lady Longhorns. Bennett mimicked a shovel against Rock River with 19 digs and was followed by Wells with 16 digs, Daley with 15 digs and Herring and Duke each with 11 digs.

The Lady Longhorns left the Panther Den with scratches and Saratoga secured their first win of the weekend before their first conference game.

Lady Panthers vs. Lady Tigers

"We know that Encampment was going to play a different style as opposed to Rock River. They're still going to play some scrappiness, but maybe not as much as Rock River at times, We knew that they were going to come out swinging at us," Love said. The first conference game for both Valley netters saw the Lady Tigers venture into the Panther Den and hoping for a win. Saratoga, however, would end up winning across all three sets. The first set saw Encampment trail the Lady Panthers with a score of 25-12, but the following two sets were much closer as they both ended with a score of 25-20.

Bennett was the leader in attacking the net against the Lady Tigers with 12 kills and was followed by Wells with 8 kills and Everett with 4 kills. Daley, meanwhile, was the lead server with 4 aces and was followed by Wells with 3 aces and Bennett and Everett with 2 aces each against Encampment.

"Olivia swung well tonight and Savannah had some great kills. I just feel like those four girls, with Whitney and Shelby added in there, they really just were strong for us," said Love. Bennett, Herring and Everett each had one block against the Lady Tigers. Daley, meanwhile, was the lead digger with 11 digs and was followed by Bennett and Herring, who each had 10 digs. 

A bane, if there was one, for the Lady Panthers was the same experience the night before playing Rock River. With one point remaining to end the set, the Lady Tigers managed to dig in for a few more serves.

Love said. "Kudos to Encampment. They've got a good program going right now, too. They've got some good athletes. I know, definitely, we're going to have to prepare a little differently for them next time."

The Saratoga Lady Panthers are 3-3 for the season and 1-0 for conference play.

With one conference win under their belt, the Lady Panthers will spend the weekend attempting to get two more as they hit the road.

On September 17, starting at 5:30 p.m., they will be hosted by the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers (4-2, 1-1) and will travel to Cokeville on September 19 to play the Cokeville Lady Panthers (4-4-1) at 3 p.m.