Tigers top Panthers in Platte Valley showdown

The Encampment Lady Tigers (2-0, 15-1) will host the Cokeville Panthers Friday and the Farson/Eden Pronhorns Saturday. The Cokeville Panthers moved up to the No. 2 spot in WyoPreps last week, knocking the Lady Tigers back to No. 3.

The Cokeville Panthers have strong outside hitters, Encampment's Head Coach Robin O'Leary said. Most of the teams the Tigers have played so far have had strong middle hitters, according to O'Leary. The Lady Tigers will be changing their defense to prepare for the Panthers.

The Lady Tigers won in three sets against the Lady Pronghorns earlier this season, but O'Leary said she doesn't take any team for granted.

The Lady Tigers hosted the Saratoga Lady Panthers this past Friday and the Lady Tigers won in three sets, 25-18, 25-13, 25-16.

Courtney James, the Lady Tigers' lone senior said she felt confident going into the game against the Lady Panthers. "We felt like it would be a pretty good competition, but I think we did pretty good," James said.

O'Leary said she never overlooks any team, and she knew going into the game Saratoga had some good hitters and O'Leary wanted to make sure her girls were ready for them. "We worked on our defense a lot to try and keep (the Lady Panthers) from scoring points. I believe they were pretty successful."

James played junior varsity at Big Piney before moving to Encampment this year and playing varsity. She said she is enjoying her new team. James said the team is very supportive and she loves playing with the team. "I love this team so much."

The first two sets would start with the Lady Tigers and Lady Panthers keeping a tied score through the first 6 points.

The Lady Tigers would use their front line to block the Lady Panther's hits and what the front line didn't block, the back row clean up.

With the score at 23-15, the Lady Panthers scored 3 points before the Lady Tigers took the win. McKenzie Powell scored a point with a hit followed by Sierra Loftice scoring the winning point by hitting the ball over the net rather than setting it for a hitter.

The second set began with the Lady Panthers taking the lead. It didn't take the Lady Tigers long to catch up, tie and then outscore the Lady Panthers. The Lady Tigers' quick reflexes were key in taking the lead to 14-6 before the Lady Panthers scored again. With every point the Lady Panthers made, the Lady Tigers replied with 2 to 3 points taking an 11-point lead.

Powell's attack scored the winning point in the second set.

Coming off from a strong win, the Lady Tigers scored the first 3 points in the third set. It was the first time the Lady Tigers led with the first point in the match. The Lady Panthers answered with 3 points of their own before the Lady Tigers became unstoppable.

The Lady Tigers scored 9 points before the Lady Panthers responded with a point and the Tigers continued to outscore the Panthers until the score was 21-10. With the 11-point lead by the Tigers, the Panthers finally scored a point and then followed up with 4 more points to close the gap to 21-15. After the Lady Panthers scored their final point of the set, the teams would have several good rallies with the Lady Tigers earning the point each time. The Lady Tigers took the winning point with a kill from Powell.

O'Leary said she is pleased with how the season is going so far. "It is going along as well as any coach would hope. They are making improvements every day in practice and in each game."

O'Leary said it has been challenging, but fun, for her as a coach to plan for practices because she knows the team wants to improve and will work on anything she gives them.

O'Leary said she is impressed with how the team continues to support each other on the court. "They are a classy group of girls," O'Leary said.

At 4 p.m. Friday, the Lady Tigers host the Cokeville Panthers. This is will be the first conference match between the two teams this season. At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Lady Tigers host Farson/Eden. This is the second conference match between these two teams.