Lady Tigers Hold Their Own at State

Saturday morning the chance to place at State Volleyball slipped through the fingers of the Encampment Lady Tigers by 2 points.

The fact that this team made it that far is an accomplishment in itself as the team had six starters with only three on the bench. Most of the teams they competed against at State had more players on their bench than the Tigers had on their team.

Lady Tigers Head Coach Janice Peterson said she and assistant coach Annie Jordan were very impressed with how the players responded to the expectations and how competitive they were as the smallest rostered team in the state. “To play five sets every game takes a lot of grit and that will service them well in the future,” Peterson said.

Tigers vs Bobcats

The Lady Tigers played the Upton Lady Bobcats Thursday afternoon. First time jitters on the blue floor at the Ford Wyoming Center plagued the Lady Tigers and they lost the first set 9-25.

Despite the loss, the team was able to get in their famous kills by Kyenna Jackson, Kristie Jordan and Savannah Fagan. Sami Anderson got in the final kill before the team lost to the Lady Bobcats.

The defense had struggles in their timing returning the ball in the back line as the team tried to adjust to all the distractions on the court.

“Being in the event center for the first time challenged us in the first game,” Peterson said.

By the 2nd set, the Lady Tigers found their bearings and held a lead against the Lady Bobcats for most of the set. Regin Stewarts scored 3 consecutive points with her serves.

Jackson was on top of her game with her blocks and by the first time out the Lady Tigers had a solid lead of 13-7. After the time out, the Lady Bobcats closed the score 14-12, but the Tigers came back with blocks by Jackson and Eckerley Pickett, allowing the Tigers to a comfortable lead at 16-12. Aces by Stewart and Anderson put the Tigers at 21-14 when the second timeout was called.

The Tigers scored 2 points before the Bobcats pushed to gain 5 points and a third timeout was called at 23-22. Head Coach Janice Peterson must have had some inspiring words, because the Lady Tigers shook it off and scored 2 points for the win. The final point was a block by Jackson and Pickett with a score of 25-22.

The 3rd set remained tied for much of the set with the Lady Tigers getting an occasional lead. They were working as a team to keep Upton at bay, and worked hard to keep the score tied. The game was so intense that the referees had to break to discuss the score as the score keepers were struggling to keep up. The score was adjusted from 17-16 to 18-17 and the game continued.

The battle on the court continued as the Lady Tigers pulled a lead of 24-18 before the Bobcats answered with 3 points. The Lady Tigers won the set when the Lady Bobcat hit a return out of bounds at 25-21.

The Tigers trailed in the beginning of the 4th set and was 6-10 at the first time out. The Lady Tigers would score only 6 more points before falling to the Bobcats 12-15.

The Lady Tigers’ struggle continued in the 5th set as the Bobcats scored 5 unanswered points. A kill by Jordan would set the Lady Tigers on fire and they scored 4 points that included kills by Jackson and Fagan. Even though the Tigers were playing hard, they could not get a break on their defense. The Tigers fell 7-15. This loss would take them out of the competition for first or second place at the state competition.

Tigers vs Tigers

Saturday afternoon, the Lady Tigers went up against the Niobrara County Lady Tigers (Lusk). They were refreshed from the day before and started out strong. Not to be deterred by their loss from the day before, the Lady Tigers pummeled Lusk and had a lead of 10 points (16-6) at one time during the set. Lusk stepped up their game and scored 4 points before a timeout was called at 16-11. Lusk continued to score while the Tigers stayed at 16 eventually tying the score 16-16. For the first time in the set, Lusk took the lead by 2 points before the front line defense started firing back and the Tigers won 25-23 with a kill by Pickett.

In the 2nd set, the Lady Tigers were still hungry and outscored Lusk once again. The Tigers had a 10-6 lead when a server on Lusk’s team handed out four aces tying the score 10-10.

A kill by Jordan ended their serving spree and the Lady Tigers scored 8 more points before Lusk would score again. Several volleys took place to earn the scores, but the Tigers' kills were dead on and kept Lusk at bay. Lusk answered with 3 kills of their own, before Jackson added her own kill, which led the team to continue outscoring the Lusk Tigers. Lusk gained a few more points as the Lady Tigers went flying to the floor for digs. A kill by Jackson ended the set 25-16.

The Tigers scored the first point in the 3rd set when Jackson blocked a kill by Lusk. Anderson followed with four aces before her serve went out of bounds. Lusk caught up the score and tied it at 5 points. From there, Lusk took the lead and the Tigers struggled with their defense. Lusk had a 5 point lead when Regin Stewart hit a kill. This kill invigorated the team and they began catching up the score with several kills and the score was tied at 21. Despite the comeback, the Tigers fell to Lusk 25-22.

The Lady Tigers were scoreless for 6 points against Lusk until they were shut down by a kill by Jordan. The Tigers attempted to close the score, but each time they scored points, Lusk came back with a vengeance. The Tigers finally got their feet under them and had several kills to tie the score at 18 points. Despite catching up to Lusk, the Tigers struggled to stay on top of them and Lusk won 20-25.

In the 5th set, Anderson was on fire with her serve and she scored 8 points before Lusk had a chance to block a kill. Anderson’s teammates kept her in the serving area with the well-timed kills. The Lady Tigers won the 5th set 15-8.

Tigers vs Cyclones

Saturday morning the Lady Tigers faced the Southeast Cyclones out of Yoder. The Cyclones scored the first point, but Encampment tied the score quickly. The Cyclones then took a lead, even though the Tigers were hitting kills. The Cyclones kept gaining on the Tigers and had a 7 point lead before a kill by Stewart left the score 9-15. The Tigers scored again when the Cyclones hit a return out of bounds. Anderson followed up with an ace at the serving line. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to tie the score at 16 and was kept tied through 20 points when the Tigers pulled ahead 24-21. It seemed as if Encampment would pull out an easy win, when they made a couple of errors that cost them 2 points and the score was 24-23 turning the set into a nailbiter. Jackson came through with one of her famous kills and the Tigers won 25-23.

In the 2nd set, Anderson scored 4 points at the serving line before the Cyclones were able to score a point. The Cyclones caught up to the Tigers and took the lead 6-9. The Tigers struggled with their kills going out of bounds. The team regrouped and earned 3 points with 3 consecutive kills, but the Cyclones were still ahead 10-15. The Tigers got the ball back in their court when the Cyclones hit a serve into the net and the Tigers gained a point. The Cyclones continued to score and before long the Cyclones had a lead of 12-17. The front line of the Tigers began to fight back and started scoring with blocks by Jackson and Stewart and the score was 14-17. By the timeout the score was 17-18. Stewart tied the score at 18 with an ace, but the Cyclones returned with a blocked kill and then tipped the ball to pull ahead 20-18.

Despite Jordan getting two more kills, the team lost 21-25.

In the 3rd set, the Tigers took an early lead before the score was tied at 5 points. Despite offensive efforts at the front line, the Tigers did not get ahead by more than 2 points. The teams alternated points remaining tied until the score was 20-21. A timeout was called and afterward the Tigers scored 2 more points before the Cyclones took over and won 20-25.

The 4th set was just as tense as the 3rd set. The score stayed tied until 7 points when the Lady Tigers went on a scoring frenzy and led by 7 points at 14-7. The Tigers continued to outscore the Lady Cyclones with the Tigers defense blocking kills and the offense delivering kills to the Cyclones. At the second timeout, the Tigers were ahead 18-10. The Tigers continued their strategy and won 25-13.

With everything on the line, both teams were ready to play to continue the season. The loser of this game would end their season and the winner had a chance at winning a third or fourth place trophy.

The Tigers maintained the lead, but Southeast was hitting in unprotected areas causing the Tigers to take deep dives to try and keep the point. A kill by Anderson gave the team a 3 point lead. By the third timeout the score was tied 12-12 and with the score going to 15 in the fifth set. It was another nail biter -. the score tied at 13. Sadly, it would be the last time the Tigers scored and the Cyclones won 15-13 when a return by Encampment went awry.

Peterson said the fact the girls were able to gain their composure and confidence to come back from the first set Thursday, beat Niobrara County, and then play Southeast losing by only 2 points proved that they had a great season. “It was a season of growth mentally and physically and the team pulled together to earn the trip to state and competed well,” Peterson said.

“It was a tough way to end a great season but they played with everything they had and left it all on the floor,” Peterson said. “As a coach there isn’t anything else I could ask of them.”

Looking toward next fall, Peterson is losing four seniors and that is going to impact the team next year. “Many of them have played a vital role since they were freshmen or sophomores,” Peterson said. “Their leadership will be missed and their ability to make big plays.”

The team is fortunate to have underclassmen who have played a lot of volleyball with the seniors making them stronger. “I anticipate we will have some early challenges trying to fill those roles and learning which players can bring powerful hitting to the game for us,” Peterson said.

“The younger players are hungry to compete,” Peterson said. “Now that they have had a chance to play at state at the highest level, I believe it will bring that intensity to off-season to work and train.”

The Tigers ended their season with 22 wins and 11 losses.