Togie takes third in Buffalo

The Saratoga Lady Panthers ventured up to Buffalo over the weekend to participate in the Arvada-Clearmont Invitational where they saw their fair share of victories, but did suffer a loss to the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns in a non-conference game. Despite that loss, however, the ladies of Saratoga would finish in 3rd place at the end of the tournament.

“Our team performed well over the weekend and gave us an opportunity to see what 1A had around the state,” said Shayley Love, head coach of the Lady Panthers. “Friday we won our pool and moved into the gold bracket Saturday.”

Saratoga vs. Midwest

The Lady Panthers first faced off against the Midwest Lady Oilers (3-2, 8-10) and Saratoga got their first win of the tournament (25-16, 25-9). Junior Jenna Dew attacked the net 16 times and had eight successful kills with fellow junior Aubrey Berger following with 21 attacks and seven kills. Senior Tiffany Bauer led the team in digging the ball out of their court with 16 digs. Following Bauer was libero Tasia Daley, who had 10 digs.

Saratoga vs. St. Stephens

The second game for the Lady Panthers was against the St. Stephens Lady Eagles (2-3, 6-11) which saw the Saratoga girls win in two (25-16, 25-10). Bauer led in kills in this game, with four kills out of 14 attacks. Berger followed with four kills out of 12 attacks and Dew with three kills out of seven attacks. Berger also had two aces against the Lady Eagles, as did fellow junior Taylor Bennett with both juniors sporting 100 percent successful serves.

Saratoga vs. Dubois

For their first game on Saturday, the Lady Panthers took on the Lady Rams of Dubois (3-1, 7-9) where they saw their third win (25-8, 25-14). Daley served three aces against Dubois, followed by Bennett with three as well and 100 percent successful serves. Bauer attacked the net 14 times and had four kills and junior Makiya Johnson followed with nine attacks and three kills. Berger led the team in digging with nine digs. Daley and Bauer followed with seven digs each.

Saratoga vs. Kaycee

Following their dispatching of the Lady Rams, Saratoga took on Kaycee’s Lady Bucks (3-1, 10-8) and won their fourth game (25-19, 25-18). While taking on the No. 1 team in the 1A Northeast conference, Johnson served two successful aces against Kaycee as did senior Mychaela Jackman. Bauer attacked the net 22 times and had five kills while Dew attacked 27 times and had five kills. Berger led in digging with 20 digs, followed by Daley with 13.

Saratoga vs. Farson-Eden

When the Lady Panthers and the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns (2-2, 11-4) faced off during their first conference game, Saratoga won 3-1. During the 1A tournament, however, the Lady Pronghorns were victorious as they defeated Saratoga in the Lady Panther’s fifth game (22-25, 18-25). Berger led the attack during this game with 22 attacks and six kills, followed by Dew with 11 attacks and three kills. Johnson served two aces against Farson-Eden and Daley dug the ball out of Saratoga’s court 17 times.

“We played well in bracket play, but fell short to Farson,” said Love. “I just didn’t feel like we ever really gained momentum and kept it. However, I don’t want to focus on that.”

Saratoga vs. Dubois:

Part Deux

Whatever momentum the Lady Panthers had trouble gaining during their match against the Lady Pronghorns came back in their second game against the Lady Rams. Sophomore Lexi Herring attacked the net six times and had four kills while Bennett followed with eight attacks and two kills. Bennett also served five aces against Dubois and had 100 percent serving success. Daley, again, regained her position as the Lady Panthers’ top digger with 11 digs followed by Berger with nine.

“The girls competed well and finished out the tournament with a 3rd place finish,” Love said. “Overall, they did some things really well and were able to see what we may be up against at Regionals.”

After the tournament, Saratoga’s Lady Panthers are still 4-1 for conference and are 17-2 for the season.

Following their success in Buffalo, the Lady Panthers will have had a game against Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners at Hanna at 5 p.m. on Oct. 9 in Hanna. The Saratoga girls also have games against the Lady Pronghorn at 11 a.m. on Oct. 12 in Farson-Eden and will face off against the Cokeville Lady Panthers at 10 a.m. on Oct. 13 in Cokeville.