Rocky Mountain splits road trip, rebounds after tough loss at Greybull

After a difficult night in Greybull on Friday, the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies regrouped, re-energized and came back less than 24 hours later with a five-set thrilling win in Shoshoni.

Coach Kay Townsend described Greybull as “a well-rounded team” that left little room for error.

“That evening they were firing on all cylinders,” she said. “Their two main hitters were both on, and we were unable to shut them down. The other half of the story is that we were unable to finish at the net.”

Friday: Greybull 3, Rocky Mountain 0

The Lady Buffs swept the Lady Grizzlies 25-20, 25-17, 25-14, controlling tempo throughout the match. Despite the loss, several Rocky players turned in strong performances. Lauren Bassett led the team with 10 kills and 8 digs, while Halle Grandalen added 8 kills and 10 digs. Keylee Christiansen tallied 16 assists and 6 digs, and Kaysie Cooley chipped in 7 digs.

After the tough loss, Townsend reminded them to move on.

“After the Greybull match, I told the girls that they could think about the match for five minutes and then let it go,” she said. “Nothing we could do about it now. Let’s get on about our business and take care of Shoshoni tomorrow. We can worry about Greybull when we meet up with them again at Regionals.”

Saturday: Rocky Mountain 3, Shoshoni 2

Whatever switch Townsend flipped worked. The next day, Rocky Mountain dug deep for one of its most emotional wins of the season, outlasting Shoshoni in five sets, 26-28, 25-12, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14.

“I made no changes,” Townsend said of her game plan between matches. “I believe in playing our game and adjusting as needed. If we take care of our game, we’ll be fine, and that’s what happened. We hadn’t played our game against Greybull, unfortunately.”

The Lady Grizzlies looked like a different team in Shoshoni. Grandalen erupted for 25 kills, 21 digs and 17 receptions, accounting for nearly a third of the team’s offense. Bassett nearly matched her with 23 kills and 21 digs, while Christiansen had a monster night setting the attack with 52 assists and 13 digs. Cooley added 9 kills, 33 receptions and 5 aces, many at key momentum points in the match. Rounding out the starting lineup, Layla Gardner tallied 16 digs while Charlee Welling anchored the defense with 24.

Townsend credited the complete effort.

“Our win in Shoshoni was truly a team victory,” she said. “It takes everyone serving, passing, setting and hitting and our stats show we did all of those things. Our serve-receive was impressive, our serving was strong and the players on the bench were incredible with their support. It was a genuine team effort.”

In the locker room afterward, Townsend reminded her players what the comeback meant. “I told them that winners are made by coming from behind and pulling out a win, just like you all did,” she said.

Tuesday: Rocky Mountain 2, Burlington 3

In their final non-conference game of the season, the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies took on the always-tough cross-district rivals, the Burlington Huskies, Tuesday night as part of the RMHS Senior Night. Despite a strong showing, Rocky fell just short in a five-set battle, 25-21, 16-25, 25-23, 29-31, 11-15.

“We faltered in the last set – lost some teamwork,” Coach Townsend said. “It was a good match to get us ready for regional competition. Now on to finishing our conference with a win over Thermop.”

Burlington, one of the top 1A teams in the state, improved to 18-8 on the season.

A few of the statistical highlights: Bassett powered the Lady Grizz with 24 kills on 64 swings, 5 aces, and 16 digs in an all-around performance. Grandalen chipped in 14 kills and 11 digs, while Cooley added 13 kills and 19 serve receptions.

Setter Christiansen kept the offense clicking with 47 assists and 14 digs, directing a balanced attack through all five sets. Emma Sponsel anchored the back row with 17 digs and 15 serve receptions, and Welling led the team in serve receptions with 25 and added 14 digs.

Conference Outlook

The Lady Grizzlies now stand at 17-10 overall and 3-2 in conference, with wins over Shoshoni (twice) and Thermopolis and two losses to Greybull. The current 2A Northwest standings show Greybull at 5-0, Rocky Mountain at 3-2, Shoshoni at 2-3 and Thermopolis at 0-5.

Rocky Mountain will close out the regular season tomorrow night (Friday) against Thermopolis before heading into the regional tournament in Lander, where a third meeting with Greybull may await.