Lady Grizzlies keep rolling under first-year coach

The Rocky Mountain High School volleyball team kept its early-season momentum going over the weekend at the Foothills Classic in Ethete, hosted by Wyoming Indian High School. The Lady Grizzlies went undefeated in tournament play, improving their record to 7–1 — the best mark in both the 2A Northwest and across the entire 2A West.

Rocky opened with a 2–0 sweep of Wyoming Indian (25–20, 25–15), then battled past Saratoga in three sets (25–24, 23–25, 15–7). They capped their day with another sweep, this time over Wind River (25–8, 25–24).

Match highlights

Against Wyoming Indian, Keylee Christiansen was strong behind the line, serving 23 times with 3 aces, while Halle Grandalen added 21 serves with 6 aces. Grandalen also helped the attack with 12 kills on 25 swings. Kamryn Welling handed out 10 assists and Christiansen added 18, while on defense Lauren Bassett tallied 6 digs and Charlee Welling chipped in 5.

The Saratoga matchup proved to be the toughest of the day, with Rocky pulling out a three-set victory. Bassett served 14 times with 2 aces, Kaysie Cooley added 10 serves with 2 aces, and Christiansen contributed 18 serves with 3 aces. Bassett again led the attack with 11 kills on 27 swings, while Charlee Welling added 5 kills on 13 attempts. In setting, Christiansen tallied 17 assists and Kamryn Welling added 6. Defensively, Christiansen (16 digs), Bassett (15 digs) and Charlee Welling (15 digs) anchored the back row in the hard-fought win.

In the Wind River match, Rocky cruised to a 25–8, 25–24 sweep. Kamryn Welling served 15 times with 6 aces, while Christiansen led the way in setting with 12 assists. Grandalen dominated at the net with 10 kills on 18 swings.

Head coach Kay Townsend, in her first season leading the program, credited the team’s adaptability for their strong showing.

“I tweaked the lineup a bit, and the girls took the tweak and ran with it,” Townsend said. “We also changed to a 6-2, which the team embraced. It gives us two extra hitters.”

Townsend highlighted strong play from her setters, along with consistent serving and impressive performances from her two middle hitters, Bassett and Grandalen.

“Our setters (Christiansen and K. Welling) did a great job with our change from a 5-1 to a 6-2. We had some great serving, as well,” Townsend said.

Looking ahead, the Lady Grizzlies will focus on sharpening their fundamentals.

“We are going to work on blocking and hitting timing this week and staying on our toes and ready for the next ball,” Townsend explained.

Next up is the Big Horn Tournament, where Rocky Mountain will face several top teams from the 2A East.

“This tournament is where we see competition from the east side of the state in 2A,” Townsend said. “We will see lots of tough competition.”

With an undefeated run in Ethete and a 7–1 overall record, the Lady Grizzlies have firmly established themselves as one of the toughest teams in 2A this fall.

2A Northwest Standings (through Sept. 7):

Rocky Mountain 7–1

Greybull 4–3

Shoshoni 4–5

Thermopolis 1–4