Lady tigers earn their stripes at HEM Invitational

The Encampment High School Lady Tigers clawed their way to the very top Saturday, taking first place out of six teams at HEM’s 1A Volleyball Invitational.

The girls won all the matches of each game they played with the exception of one, which was against Lingle-Ft. Laramie. In that game they lost a match 23-25, but won their first match 25-17.

For the championship-winning matchup, the Lady Tigers ripped into Farson-Eden 25-23 and 27-26, after already beating them twice in a game from the same tournament.

“Our girls scrambled for points, and though we didn’t have many beautiful plays, we finished and didn’t lose it at the end,” said coach Robin O’Leary. “It truly says a lot about our conference when four of the top five teams are from our conference.”

Other teams played at the tourney included Rock River, Little Snake River and Ten Sleep. O’Leary said she was happy to see her girls start off strong after winning their first two matches against the Lady Longhorns, with 25-19 and 25-11.

“It did surprise me to win the first two games with Rock River, but their hitters were hitting a lot of balls out, which was unusual for Rock River,” she said. “I would definitely say Rock River was a team to watch out for, but our defense was good and kept us alive. Our seniors really stepped up their play and leadership on Saturday, and you could tell they were the ‘seniors’ and that was nice to see from them. We also took it one game at a time.” 

O’Leary said she was also happy to see some of her JV girls get into the game and experience a harder, faster pace in girls’ volleyball.

“We only played varsity during the Hanna tournament, but we were able to rotate all of the JV in for a couple of plays during one of the games,” she said. “For the most part they did well, but I think they understand the difference in the level of play from JV to varsity now. Balls move a lot faster in varsity matches.” 

The first-place tournament placing was also a welcome comeback for the varsity Lady Panthers, after losing 19-25, 16-25 and 17-25 to Baggs Friday. O’Leary said she was quite happy to see the girls get back into winning mode, and even take first place at the tournament.

“Lingle was definitely the most challenging team we played, and all of the girls played their hearts out the whole tournament,” she said. “I never saw a slip in effort, but in each game we would have a couple girls struggling. The great thing was that those girls pushed through and did their best, and the rest of the team never got down on them. That has been the case with this team the whole season, and if it continues we can accomplish our goals.”

The Lady Tigers hosted the Saratoga Lady Panthers Tuesday night. Results were not avaiable at press time.

Tuesday, the team travels to Walden to play against North Park.

Results and stats for both weekend plays:

Encampment vs. Baggs, Sept. 13

Encampment Varsity vs. Baggs Varsity

19-25; 16-25; 17-25

Kaylyn Wessel- 9/9 on serves, 2 kills, 17 digs, 1 block

Jennifer Morgan- 4/4 on serves, 7 kills, 9 digs, 1 block

Alyssa Barkhurst- 6/7 on serves, 3 kills, 24 digs, 1 assist

Cassidy Little- 8/8 on serves, 1 ace, 3 kills, 7 digs, 4 blocks

Sierra Loftice- 5/6 on serves, 13 assists

Emily Morgan- 4/5 on serves, 6 digs

Encampment JV

vs. Baggs JV

7-25; 10-25

(No stats available)

Sept. 14 HEM Invitational:

Encampment

vs. Rock River

25-19; 25-11

Kaylyn Wessel- 3/3 on serves, 2 kills, 8 digs

Jennifer Morgan- 7/8 on serves, 2 aces, 8 kills, 3 digs

Alyssa Barkhurst- 6/7 on serves, 2 kills, 12 digs, 1 block

Cassidy Little- 7/8 on serves, 1 ace, 3 kills, 10 digs

Sierra Loftice- 4/5 on serves, 13 assists

Emily Morgan- 6/6 on serves, 1 ace, 3 digs, 1 assist

Encampment vs. Ten Sleep

25-13; 25-13

Kaylyn Wessel- 13/13 on serves, 5 aces, 2 kills, 5 digs

Jennifer Morgan- 5/5 on serves, 1 kill, 5 digs

Alyssa Barkhurst- 3/3 on serves, 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 digs

Sierra Loftice- 10/11 on serves, 6 aces, 2 digs, 6 assists

Cassidy Little- 5/7 on serves, 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 digs

Emily Morgan- 3/3 on serves, 1 dig

Randa Sorensen- 1/2 on serves, 1 ace

Karie Russell- 1 dig

Ashley Turner- 1 dig

Shelby Howe- 4 digs

Encampment vs. Lingle

25-17; 23-25

Kaylyn Wessel- 3/4 on serves, 7 kills, 3 digs, 1 block

Jennifer Morgan- 11/11 on serves, 3 aces, 7 digs

Alyssa Barkhurst- 9/9 on serves, 1 ace, 8 kills, 14 digs

Cassidy Little- 7/7 on serves, 2 kills, 13 digs, 1 block

Sierra Loftice- 6/9 on serves, 1 kill, 18 assists, 1 block

Emily Morgan- 4/4 on serves, 1 dig, 1 assist, 1 block

Encampment vs. Baggs

25-22; 25-21

Kaylyn Wessel- 6/7 on serves, 4 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks

Jennifer Morgan- 6/6 on serves, 5 kills, 8 digs

Alyssa Barkhurst- 2/4 on serves, 8 kills, 17 digs

Cassidy Little- 3/5 on serves, 4 kills, 14 digs, 1 block

Sierra Loftice- 11/14 on serves, 1 kill, 1 dig, 21 assists

Emily Morgan- 12/12 aces, 3 digs, 1 assist

Encampment

vs. Farson-Eden

25-22; 27-26

Kaylyn Wessel- 4/4 on serves, 2 kills, 9 digs, 1 block

Jennifer Morgan- 7/7 on serves, 1 ace, 11 kills, 3 digs

Alyssa Barkhurst- 6/7 on serves, 5 kills, 10 digs

Cassidy Little- 10/12 on serves, 3 kills, 10 digs

Sierra Loftice- 4/6 on serves, 3 digs, 15 assists

Emily Morgan- 6/8 on serves, 2 aces, 3 digs, 3 assists

Encampment vs. Farson (For Hanna Tournament Championship)

25-23; 27-26

(No stats available)