Rocky Mountain outlasts Burlington in five

On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizz squeezed out a five-set win over Burlington, 26–24, 11–25, 9–25, 25–19, 17–15, in a rivalry match that swung both ways.

“We had three days of fantastic, intense practice and were ready,” head coach Kay Townsend said. “I told them to play as we practiced, play our game and be vigilant at the net when Burlington’s Sara McNiven was in the front row.” That urgency showed early as Rocky stole the opening set with aggressive serving and first-ball kills.

Coach Townsend is admittedly a serve and serve-receive hawk.

“Without those two skills you cannot play a very good match,” she said.

On paper, Rocky passed enough to win. Lacey Bassett handled 23 receptions with just 1 error and added 12 kills on 33 swings plus 2 solo blocks, giving the Grizz a steady first contact and a go-to finisher. 

Charlee Welling shouldered 21 receptions and led the back row with 16 digs, while Kaysie Cooley dug 13 and chipped in 3 aces. Setter Keylee Christianson continued her senior surge with 22 assists, 5 aces and a team-high 95 ball-handling attempts, the stat line of a five-set grind.

So why did sets two and three slip away?

“We were playing not to lose,” Townsend said. “We received-serve well but could not finish with the ball-to the-floor. It felt like each player was trying to play her own game instead of as a team.” 

The attack numbers hint at that lull: outside of Bassett’s 12 and Halle Grandalen’s 8 kills on 32 swings, production was spotty, and Burlington turned long rallies into points.

The reset came before set four.

“Take the pressure off yourselves,” Townsend told the team. “Do not play to keep from losing. Play to win with everything we have practiced all season.”

Rocky responded with a 25–19 fourth set, then closed the tiebreak 17-15 behind cleaner first contacts and targeted serves. Serving was a difference maker throughout: Christiansen 5 aces; Cooley 3; Grandalen 2; Bassett, Layla Gardner and Welling 1 each, with low ball-handling errors across the board.

The numbers match the message. When Rocky played together as a team, points followed. When they protected a lead instead of attacking, Burlington surged.

“Even when we lost sets, we were never defeated,” Townsend said.

Looking ahead, the Lady Grizz travel to Greybull tomorrow night (Friday) with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6. Coach Townsend said that her team is preparing for Greybull’s “strong hitters and blockers.”

On Saturday, RMHS volleyball travels to Shoshoni with games starting at 1 and 2 p.m.  

Senior night will be on Tuesday October 21, with another exciting match against Burlington. Townsend said that, “Tongue River canceled earlier in the season, so Burlington will fill the date for a final tune-up.”

Looking ahead, Townsend flagged two conference keys: Greybull brings “a few strong hitters and blockers,” while Shoshoni “has good servers.”

2A Northwest standings (as of Oct. 13)

Greybull: 15–9 overall, 3–0 conference

Rocky Mountain: 16–8 overall, 2–1 conference

Shoshoni: 10–16 overall, 1–2 conference

Thermopolis: 5–17 overall, 0–3 conference

“With just three conference games left, every result matters,” Townsend noted.