Grizzlies earn key wins at Big Horn Tournament

The Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies volleyball team faced their toughest competition of the season last weekend at the Big Horn 2A Tournament. The field included both last year’s top four finishers and this year’s current top four ranked 2A teams.

The Grizzlies came back a little bruised but upbeat after testing themselves against such quality squads and coming away with three impressive victories. Rocky finished the weekend with a 3-3 record, highlighted by hard-fought wins over Pine Bluffs, Wright and Moorcroft.

Head coach Kay Townsend praised her team’s tenacity and ability to compete with strong opponents. The Grizzlies opened the tournament against the defending state champion Big Horn and last year’s state runner-up Tongue River.

“I thought we did great against all of our opponents except Tongue River; we just couldn’t get it together in that game,” she said.

“I was very proud of how they played against the other top two teams in the east, Sundance and defending state champions Big Horn. I was very happy with the win over Pine Bluffs as they came into the tournament without any losses. Winning over Wright was a hard-fought game, and the girls proved themselves.”

Among the standouts were setters Keylee Christiansen (50 assists) and Kamryn Welling (21 assists), who kept Rocky’s offense moving. Middle hitter Lauren Bassett led with 43 kills and 16 blocks, while Halle Grandalen added 18 kills and 14 blocks. Keylee Christiansen and Kaysie Cooley chipped in 12 kills each, and Charlee Welling anchored the back row with steady passing and digging. 

Coach Townsend also highlighted Layla Gardner, who came off the bench to contribute 8 blocks and valuable energy across the front row.

“I use the word ‘connector’ to describe Layla,” Townsend said. “She helps the younger players during practice and always cheers her teammates on. She is a joy to coach.”

Rocky’s victories came against some of the tournament’s toughest challengers. The Grizzlies handed previously unbeaten Pine Bluffs its first loss of the season in a three-set thriller (25-26, 25-23, 15-13), battled back to defeat Wright in three (15-25, 25-22, 15-8) and swept Moorcroft in straight sets (25-13, 25-22).

The Grizzlies also went toe-to-toe with the three top-ranked teams in the state but fell short. Rocky dropped a two-set battle to #1 Big Horn (25-20, 25-20), fell to #2 Tongue River (25-13, 25-14) and came up just shy against #3 Sundance (25-17, 25-20).

Looking ahead, Townsend said the focus in practice will return to fundamentals.

“This week we will be working on passing, going back to the basics. We are also working on blocking as Powell will be an opponent we need to block against all along the net,” she said,

After three weekends of competition, the Grizz still have the best record in the 2A northwest with a 10-4 record and also lead the entire west region. 

RMHS travels to the Greybull Tournament tomorrow, where they’ll face a mix of 1A and 2A opponents, including Saratoga, a matchup Townsend said helped her squad “come together as a team” when they played earlier in the season. Coach Townsend added, “It will be nice to have a tournament closer to home without the long overnight travel. We are looking forward to playing some great games and trying out some new tricks.”