Lady Panthers face tough competition, tight matches

The Saratoga Lady Panthers (1-2, 8-7 overall) played two tight matches last week, winning against Lingle-Fort Laramie (11-6) in five sets on Friday (25-16. 20-25, 25-19, 20-25, 20-18), then losing to Pine Bluffs in three sets.

The team played with concentration against the Doggers, though their communication became hard to hear in the midst of it. Alicia Zaragoza, junior, is playing full games now and showed strength in digs and kills, with high energy on the court. Shaelee Hamann, junior,wore the Lady Panthers' pink jersey as the libero.

Senior Sierra Schutte stayed big at the net, jumping high and powerfully. Junior Meredith Lincoln was instrumental in saving the ball on several occasions, when it may have meant a point for the Doggers-and in the tight game, each point was necessary.

According to head coach Shayley Love, the Lingle-Fort Laramie game is non-conference game, but this win is important because if there were to be a tie situation during conference championships, this win could break the tie.

On Saturday, the Lady Panthers went to Pine Bluffs and played another tight match against the Hornets (5-0, 10-7), ultimately losing in three sets (19-25, 21-25, 20-25).

According to Love, the girls were tired from the five-set match the night before.

Now that they have played the Hornets once, they will know what to expect for the next match against them, Love said.

Despite the loss, Love is optimistic that the netters are headed in the right direction for the second half of the season. In order to prepare, they will build on what they already know and move forward. The goal is to improve upon their defense week after week. Love said she is proud of the girls.

Coming up, the Lady Panthers will travel to Burns to play them once more with varsity starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the netters will return back home to host Niobrara County in the Saratoga Middle-High gym, with varsity starting at 2:15 p.m.