Lady Miners tested by Lady Tigers

The Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School girls volleyball team played their first game under new head coach Hannah Williams on Friday at 6 p.m. at HEM against a strong Carbon County School District No 2 team. It was the Encampment Tigers.

The Lady Tigers were in a similar position last year with a new coach, but the team has adjusted under her supervision and it showed at Friday's game.

The team from Encampment won all sets of the game, although the last one, was the most contested when the Lady Miners tied it up 15-15. The Lady Tigers got back to their game and won the last set 25-20.

The first set, where the Lady Tigers and Lady Miners stayed close until Encampment passed a dozen points and then took over winning 25-17.

The second set, the Lady Tigers had the game well in hand early and defeated the Lady Miners 25-17.

Although the Lady Miners did not come up with a win in any of the sets, most of the time the girls were smiling and encouraging each other.

More than one audience member said the Lady Miners looked like they were enjoying themselves, even if they were not winning.

The HEM team has a new head volleyball coach in Williams and she is happy to see the smiles.

"It went really well," Williams said. "The first game, you start out and learn what exactly you have to work with and it is hard until you play a team, to know exactly what you are up against and need to improve."

Williams said there were mistakes, but she felt there were some strong components to the Lady Miner's game.

"There really were some things, I felt we did really great," Williams said. "We had some excellent volleys and we positioned ourselves well quite a lot. The mistakes made us know what we have to work on in practice and we also learned what to expect from Encampment which is good."

Williams would like to have won, but she wasn't disappointed in how the girls played.

"Obviously you want to win as a coach, but the attitude of players is so important which you hope is good the whole season," Williams said. "If you have girls that are frustrated the whole time out on court, they are not going to play their best. So at practice, I am all for smiles and all for joking and having fun. The girls know when its time to buckle down and get serious."

Williams understands how important enjoying being on the court with your teammates is having played volleyball in high school and college.

"At University I played club, because I wasn't good enough to play for the University itself, but I really enjoy the game," Williams said. "So when I got the job as elementary school counselor, I knew I wanted to be a part of the volleyball program."

Williams said she coached under former HEM head coach of volleyball Jackie Jones who coached middle school last year.

"That was a great experience and it helped me so much," Williams said. ""When there was an opening at the high school for the coaching position, I got to move up to the big leagues.

Williams is not put off by the loss.

"I am excited for the season," Williams said. "I am proud of the work the girls have put in so far and I look forward to meeting other teams."