Encampment Lady Tiger Kaylyn Wessel, right, blocks Saratoga Lady Panther Haley Soles’ hit Sept. 17 at Encampment. The Lady Tigers won the game against the Lady Panthers, winning three of four games.
Encampment Lady Tigers swiped three wins out of four games from the Saratoga Lady Panthers Sept. 17.
The Panthers won the first match 25-21, but the Tigers fought back hard and won the following three games with 25-17, 25-16 and 25-19. Coach Robin O’Leary said she knew her girls were equipped for winning the whole game, even after a first-match win from Saratoga.
“I knew my girls were capable of winning, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy and it definitely wasn’t a guarantee,” she said. “Saratoga is a strong team and so are we, and that is why the contest was so intense and fun to watch. I was most proud of serving, serves received and the mental toughness of each girl and our team. We only missed two serves total for all four matches, and that was huge.”
O’Leary said she also appreciated how her girls stayed calm and collective during the game, even in tough competition.
“The other big factor is I never saw fear on the girls’ faces, they just wanted the next ball,” she said. “They never got cocky and kept pushing forward. Saratoga and Encampment were both well represented, and there was fierce but tasteful cheering from both sides. I also never feel like we have a game won until we score the final point.”
With the Lady Tigers down 1-10 at one point in the first game, O’Leary said it looked like either team’s game.
“We weren’t hitting hard in the beginning and Saratoga was, so we quickly found ourselves down 1-10 in the first game,” she said. “Our passes and sets were there, and once the hitters got their confidence, we scrambled back in the game and lost by only four points, which was the smallest point spread of the four matches. We focused a lot on serves received last week and it showed. Saratoga has very strong servers, but we were able to make good passes off of most of them, which allows us to run our offense.”
After many practices, O’Leary said it was great to see all the hard work and preparation pay off during game time, especially against a friendly rival like Saratoga.
“It is encouraging to see what we work on in practice be put to use in a game, and a lot of seasons that hasn’t happened,” she said. “We will focus more on defense for the rest of this week and see if we can improve that for the next time we meet Saratoga. We didn’t really challenge them with our block, and I would like to see us get our timing figured out for that.”
O’Leary said she had to highlight all seven players- Kaylyn Wessel, Jenny Morgan and Alyssa Barkhurst, Cassidy Little, Sierra Lofice, Emily Morgan and McKenzie Powell- for playing hard and utilizing their individual strengths.
“Kaylyn was our key serve receiver, and Jenny and Alyssa were our most effective hitters,” she said. “Cassidy’s instinct kept the ball alive when everyone expected it to be over, and Sierra and Emily were tough servers, along with Sierra setting the ball consistently for our hitters. McKenzie came in and played strong defense to finish off the game.”
O’Leary also stressed her athletes’ strength and ability playing as a team.
“It took all of them to secure the win, and this is a fun team to coach,” she said. “They want to improve and work hard to do so, and I don’t see any of them out for their own glory. I see improvement in all players including JV, since they are getting more comfortable with the game and what their job is on the floor. They are still a ways to go, but they work just as hard as varsity and improve daily, so I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The Lady Tigers played last night against North Park in Walden, Colo., scores were unavailable at press time. The Tigers host Rock River at 5 p.m. Friday.
The Lady Panthers traveled to HEM last night, scores were unavailable for press time. The Lady Panthers travel to play Wyoming Indian in Ethete Friday.
Results for
Encampment vs. Saratoga- Sept. 17
21-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19
(Encampment won last three)
Kaylyn Wessel- 16/16 for serves, 2 aces, 1 kill, 24 digs, 4 blocks
Jennifer Morgan- 9/9 for serves, 1 ace, 7 kills, 20 digs, 1 block
Alyssa Barkhurst- 11/11 for serves, 1 ace, 7 kills, 21 digs
Cassidy Little- 9/9 for serves, 5 kills, 15 digs, 3 blocks
Sierra Loftice- 11/12 for serves, 11 digs
Emily Morgan- 9/10 for serves, 9 digs
Saratoga vs. Burns
Sept. 20
25-23, 25-23, 25-15
(Saratoga won all three)
Stats for Saratoga were not received by deadline. They will appear in the Oct. 2 edition of the Saraotga Sun.
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