LANDER — The Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns split their first two matches Friday at the 1A West Regional, falling to Meeteetse in a five-set battle before sweeping Arapaho Charter to keep their season alive.
Farson-Eden, the No. 2 seed out of the Southwest, opened the tournament against Meeteetse, the No. 3 seed from the Northwest. The two teams went back and forth in a five-set match, with Meeteetse eventually pulling out a 3-2 victory by scores of 27-25, 14-25, 18-25, 25-21 and 15-13.
Despite the loss, the Lady Pronghorns finished with more points than Meeteetse, outscoring the Lady Longhorns 109-99. The Lady Pronghorns never lost a set by more than four points, and in the sets they won, they won by a combined 18 points.
The loss sent Farson-Eden into the third-place bracket, where the Pronghorns faced Arapaho Charter in a late-night matchup. Originally scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday, the match was delayed due to games ahead of them running long and did not get underway until after 10 p.m. Farson-Eden swept Arapaho Charter 3-0, finishing the match around 11:30 p.m. to keep its state tournament hopes alive.
The Lady Pronghorns now face the biggest match of their season at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Lander Valley High School Field House against Dubois, the No. 2 seed out of the Northwest. The match is an elimination contest, with the winner clinching a spot in the state tournament and the loser’s season coming to an end.
A Farson-Eden win would send the Pronghorns to the third-place match at 2:30 p.m. in the auxiliary gym, where they would face the winner of Little Snake River and Meeteetse to determine the third seed heading to state.
