Lady Grizzlies battle the East, win one match at State

After a strong late-season rush that included a regional championship, the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies ran into the always powerful East Region at the Class 2A State Volleyball Tournament in Casper.

The Lady Grizz fell to Sundance in the first round Thursday, eliminated conference foe Shoshoni Friday, then fell to powerful Pine Bluffs in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning. Rocky came into the tournament as the top seed out of the West, while Sundance was the fourth seed from the East, but Sundance was hot at the tournament and went on to place third after beating Rocky 25-11, 25-20, 25-22.

“It was a very disappointing game, to say the least,” head coach Stephanie Ames said. “We just couldn’t get anything going at all. Passing was poor, which means setting was hard, and that translates to fewer hits.

“Sundance is a great team, but we definitely could have had a better game. We decided to let that one go and focus on the rest of our games.”

Dropping into the consolation bracket, the Lady Grizzlies met conference opponent Shoshoni in a loser-out contest Friday afternoon. Rocky eliminated Shoshoni 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 25-14, staying alive to play on championship Saturday.

“With the loss to Sundance, we came up against a familiar foe in Shoshoni,” Ames said. “We knew the Wranglers had been coming on stronger in the late and post season, and we did not overlook them at all. The girls were able to get into a much better groove and play our kind of volleyball.

“We were able to execute all areas better, and our passing was night and day different than the day before.”

Saturday morning, the Lady Grizz met Pine Bluffs, who had defeated Thermopolis 3-1 in the first round, then fell to eventual champion Big Horn 3-1 in a Friday evening semifinal.

Though the Hornets from southeast Wyoming prevailed 18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17, Ames was pleased with her team’s effort.

“It was a decidedly better showing again,” she said. “We did pick up the first set 25-18. We really came out hot and caught Pine Bluffs on their heels. We took some momentum into the next set and played a very back-and-forth set. Set three was a real nail biter. It’s nerve wracking but very fun to play in games like that. Sadly, we came up two points short in that one. Set four was a flip flop of the first set and we lost 17-25.

“In the end, Pine Bluffs only outscored us by seven points in those four sets. It was a bit difficult to see that at the time, as the end of the ride was very difficult, but the girls played a heck of a game. They showed off some amazing skills and really fought hard.”

Junior Lauren Bassett led the team in kills during the state tournament with 33, and senior Brittly Boettcher was right behind her with 31. Senior Tarynn Schoening had 17 kills, senior Shelby Wambeke 13 and junior Keylee Christiansen 11.

Bassett led the team with five aces, and Boettcher had four, Wambeke and Elliahna Scheeler three apiece. Bassett led with 21 blocks, and Scheeler finished with 11, Boettcher nine and Wambeke and Christiansen four.

Boettcher led the squad with 62 digs, and Bassett had 57, Halle Grandalen 37, Wambeke 34, Christiansen 28, junior Layla Gardner 18, Schoening and Scheeler 17 apiece. Wambeke had 56 assists, Christiansen 40.

The tournament was the final competition for seniors Boettcher, Scheeler, Schoening and Wambeke.

“We could not be prouder of the girls this year,” Ames said. “They did an outstanding job of coming together and forming a cohesive group. I credit my four seniors with that. They were great leaders. We didn’t
choose a team captain this year as we felt the four of them were a strong foundation
together and could take the team where we wanted it to be.”