Lady Miners win three straight

The Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) girls volleyball team had a solid week.

Encampment

The Lady Tigers came to HEM on Thursday to face the Lady Miners. The first set was a see-saw battle with both teams playing well. Neither team got very far ahead of the other. It wasn't until towards the end of the set the Lady Miners took out the Lady Tigers. The first set ended 25-22.

The second set was just as exciting as the first. Encampment took the lead a few times, but the Lady Miners would find ways to come back. Amy Campbell went in and out of the set due to an injury. Even without their leading scorer in the game, HEM found ways to get ahead and by the end of the set, they had won it 25-21.

The third set went entirely the Lady Miners way. Except in the very beginning of the game, the Lady Tigers got too far behind to catch up. The Lady Miners won, 25-9.

"Encampment is a good team," Head Volleyball Coach Jackie Jones said. "Our first set was competitive and our second set, we made some mistakes, such as throwing arms up where we shouldn't cost us some. But once we decided to go to running our system, things looked pretty good in that third set."

Jones was happy with freshman Avery Scott.

"I thought Avery stepped in there and did a tremendous job because Encampment has some tremendous hitters," Jones said. "But I think what we did in that third set, is the team that we are. Madison (Campbell) did an excellent job being the glue that keeps the team together."

Lingle/Ft. Laramie

The Lady Miners faced the Lady Doggers for the second time this season on Friday morning. The Lingle team put up a stronger fight this time around. The first set went to the Lady Miners, but it was hard fought. The score was 26-24. The second set was a little easier for the Lady Miners where they went 25-19. The Lady Doggers were not about to roll over because they had lost the first two. The third set, Lingle won a hard fought battle. The score was 24-26 in favor of the Lady Doggers. HEM was determined to win the next set and they did, 25-14.

"Lingle was a much improved team from just a week ago," Jones said "We had to adjust to some things and we did. A pleasant surprise was Hayley Felton. She was cool as a cucumber and did a fantastic job."

Little Snake River

"We had a real barn burner with Little Snake River," Jones said. "They are a solid volleyball team and they have big hitters and it was back and forth, back and forth"

Jones is right to call the game a barn burner. The Lady Miners took the rest of the set with a score of 25-21. The next set, the Lady Rattlers came out on top with a score of 25 points to HEM's 21. The third set was hard fought, but the Lady Miners prevailed 25-23. The next set went back to the Lady Rattlers. They scored 25 to the Lady Miner's 20 points. The last set went to HEM 15-11.

"That last set was the girls," Jones said. "A calmness came over me as I stepped back and watched them jell without needing direction for every play. They were doing it. I was so proud and the feeling was wonderful. I have the utmost respect for Coach Evans over in Baggs. She runs a quality program. It feels good to beat a team of that caliber. This is a special team."

The next scheduled game is at 4:30 p.m. on September 11 against Guernsey/Sunrise in Guernsey.