Getting their confidence

The Encampment Lady Tigers continue to grow as a team as they work to show that they have what it takes to play in the competitive 1A Southwest Conference. 

On Friday afternoon, Encampment came within points of overcoming the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns (21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-27) over four sets. Saturday morning, Tiger Nation hosted defending State Champions, the Cokeville Lady Panthers (7-25, 12-25, 10-25) but were unable to take a set from the visiting Lady Panthers. 

Lady Tigers vs.

Lady Pronghorns

Last season, Farson-Eden made it as far as the regional tournament before being sent home. This season, are ranked just above the Lady Tigers. While they came to Encampment looking for a win, they soon discovered they wouldn't get one without a fight as the Lady Tigers worked hard to keep the score close.

"I think we're just right there. Skill wise, we were right where we need to be," said Robin Brown, head coach for the Lady Tigers. "I think we worked really hard on the little things all week long in practice. We had a few errors mentally with missed serves and being in the net and that made the difference in the game."

It didn't take long for Encampment to find their footing against the Lady Pronghorns as they worked hard to return the ball and give consistent serves. Throughout the entire game, the Lady Tigers kept up communication and moved around the court.

Junior Grace Tieszen, who has been working on getting her serves honed in, saw several successful serves against Farson-Eden.

"That's where it is, I think, with our whole team," Brown said. "It's just the confidence in our serves and the mental game with the serves, so they just need to break through that. They all have great serves, we have a phenomenal serving team, it's just getting our confidence."

While the first two sets saw the Lady Tigers claw their way into the game and keep Farson-Eden on their feet, the final two were successes for Encampment. In the third set, the Lady Tigers were able to take advantage of errors on the part of Farson-Eden and secure a win. During the fourth set, the teams often went point-for-point until the Lady Pronghorns were able to dash ahead by two points and end the game 1-3.

"Teamwork wise, we're there. We just need to get over that hump and put together a win. It was all just right on the tip for us," said Brown.

As Encampment worked to keep the Lady Pronghorns from running off with the score, junior Lindsie Farver and freshman Allison Bromley collided. While Farver was able to return to the court, Bromley left the game as she favored her arm.

"It's not broken, so that's a good thing," Brown said. "It still hurts her and it's still pretty swollen, so we're going to look at it come next week and see where she's at. It was very good news when we heard it wasn't broken."

Lady Tigers vs.

Lady Panthers

Following their tight game against Farson-Eden, the Lady Tigers hosted Cokeville. Despite the score, Brown saw positives come from the game and things that she believes Encampment can work on.

"A lot of what the score showed was our mental game. I think, after yesterday's game, we were feeling pretty defeated and then to have to turn around the next morning and come back out on the court, that was pretty hard for us mentally," said Brown.

In the third set, the Lady Tigers were able to score 12 points against Cokeville, the highest they would score the entire game.

"There was some really good things, though, especially in the second set. We came out and told the girls they had to start blocking and in the first six points, we had four touches or a block on that ball," Brown said. "They were doing the things we needed to do. So, there were some bright moments. We had several good hits down on them, so there were some things we can build on from the Cokeville game."

Following the weekend, the Encampment Lady Tigers are 3-7 for the season and 0-4 for conference. They will get a break from conference play this weekend as they host the Rock River Lady Longhorns at 5 p.m. on Oct. 4 and travel to Hanna to play against the Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow Lady Miners at noon on Oct. 5.