Lady Tigers take down Lady Panthers

The Encampment Lady Tigers had only one game last week, the results of which may prove to propel them into the remainder of the season.

On Friday, the Lady Tigers hosted their conference and Valley rivals the Saratoga Lady Panthers (6-6, 3-3) and went 3-2 for their first win against Saratoga in three years. The victory for the Lady Tigers also served as the first conference win of the season as the regional tournament rapidly approaches.

"We've been working really, really hard on playing clean and competitive and not giving up on ourselves if we make a mistake. Just coming back out and making up for it the next play and they definitely did that from the beginning of the game 'til the end," said Robin Brown, head coach of the Lady Tigers. "There was times, I think, in that last game we were down by five and they just got some grit and pulled through. It was really their heart that won this game for us and just staying calm and controlling the ball."

When Saratoga hosted the Lady Tigers in September, the Lady Panthers dispatched Encampment in three sets. During the rematch, five sets saw the two teams go point-for-point and back-and-forth.

"It seemed like, to me, both teams were really pushing in for it and it wasn't one sided. They definitely didn't just roll over and give us the match when we started showing some heart and I think our girls did the same with them when they started getting ahead," Brown said. "It was very evenly matched, it was really fun volleyball."

In the 1st set, the Lady Tigers would trade the lead with Saratoga multiple times and would tie, 23-23, only to extend well past the game-point of 25. The Lady Panthers, however, would secure a win in the 1st set, 28-30.

In the 2nd set, the Lady Tigers pushed back and took an early lead against Saratoga. The Lady Panthers, however, would lead near the end until Encampment roared back and took the 2nd set, 27-25. The 3rd set saw the Lady Tigers fall 19-25 to Saratoga while the 4th set ended with another win for Encampment, 26-24. 

In the 5th set, with the match on the line, the Lady Tigers continued to fight point-for-point with Saratoga. Several times throughout the final set, the two teams would end up tied with each of them eeking out a small lead by a single point. After tying at 16-16, however, the Lady Tigers managed to put two points together while keeping Saratoga scoreless to win the 5th set and the match.

"We needed that. They've worked so hard this whole year and, even when we were on the COVID shutdown, they were working themselves and so they've been in this and working for it for, now, seven months," said Brown. "To finally put it together and get a win, they deserve it. They've worked hard and lots of emotion attached to that."

The Lady Tigers won't get much of a rest this weekend as they travel for one conference game and host two games. On Friday, Encampment will be hosted by the Cokeville Lady Panthers (6-6-1, 2-0). Then, on Saturday, the Lady Tigers will host the Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers and the Southeast Lady Cyclones.

"We come out next Friday and we have our first game against Cokeville but I think this gave us a lot of confidence that we can handle some hard hits and that we can block pretty well and that's what it's going to take against Cokeville, is some hustle and being able to block some of their hits," Brown said. "Hopefully we can take the good things that happened tonight and move it into next week against them."

The match between Encampment and Cokeville will begin at 2 p.m. on October 9. The Lady Tigers will face Lingle-Fort Laramie at 11 a.m. on October 10 and the Lady Cyclones at 2 p.m. on October 10.