ROCK SPRINGS – Mustang Volleyball goes into this week’s Region IX Tournament in Casper with a No. 8 national ranking in the NJCAA and plenty of momentum following recent road victories over Casper College and top region rival Northwest College. The latter team nonetheless secured the tourney’s top seed, but Mustang Coach Rick Reynolds says he is just as happy to have his squad open play this Wednesday as the No. 2 seed versus Eastern Wyoming College.
“You always want to be the best, but the way our tournament works, the top seed gets a bye,” he said. “It allows you an extra day of rest, but it also allows everyone else the opportunity to compete and have a match under the belt before you play your first one. I’m excited for the opportunity to play the first day and have a chance to get the tournament jitters out of the way.”
Local broadcaster WYO Radio will broadcast each Mustang tournament game on 106.7 KMRZ beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the Mustangs’ matchup against Eastern. On Thursday in the double-elimination tournament, the Mustangs will play Casper or Laramie in either the winner’s bracket, at6 p.m., or the loser’s bracket, at 2 p.m. If they win either game, they will advance to play Friday in a match and at a time to be determined by Thursday’sresults. Final rounds will be held on Saturday at 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
As the top two seeds in this year’s region tourney, Western and Northwest likely would be considered favorites to meet in the championship match. The squads split their regular-season region matchups, with each team notching a win on the other team’s home court.
“The tournament is a new season,” Reynolds said. “We’ve played for three months to have our season decided in four days. Everyone gets a fresh start and it’s exciting. I’m proud of our effort in practice since our last match. The team is focused and working on maximizing our strengths.”
A win in this year’s region tournament would send Western to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, which will be held in CasperNov. 20-22.
