CHEYENNE — Green River picked up right where it left off last season, while Rock Springs bounced back from a difficult opening day to finish the weekend on a strong note at the Cheyenne Invitational.
The No. 2-ranked Lady Wolves went 4-1 at the tournament, with their only loss coming against No. 3 Laramie on Saturday. Green River opened the weekend with four consecutive set victories before dropping its first set of the season against Cheyenne Central on Saturday. Rock Springs finished 3-2, recovering from three losses Friday with two convincing victories Saturday.
Green River wasted little time showing why it entered the season ranked No. 2 in Class 4A.
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The Lady Wolves opened Friday with a 25-7, 25-17 sweep of Campbell County before taking down No. 4 Sheridan 25-18, 25-15. The two victories gave Green River a 4-0 start in sets and provided an early glimpse of the form that carried the team to the Class 4A state championship match last season.
Green River continued its strong start Saturday morning, although Central provided a much tougher test. The Lady Wolves dropped the opening set 25-22 before answering with 25-23 and 25-20 wins to take the match. Green River then swept South 25-21, 25-13 to move to 4-0 on the weekend.
The Lady Wolves closed the tournament against No. 3 Laramie in a matchup between two of the state’s top-ranked teams who met in the playoffs last year. Green River won a tight opening set 26-24, but Laramie responded with 25-17 and 25-19 victories to hand the Lady Wolves their first loss of the season.
Despite the loss, Green River finished the tournament with four wins and continued the momentum from last year’s 26-6 state runner-up season.
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Rock Springs had a more challenging start but showed significant improvement on the second day.
The Lady Tigers opened Friday with a 2-1 loss to Cheyenne East, falling 25-18, 21-25, 25-20. They then faced No. 1 Kelly Walsh and fell 25-18, 25-17 before closing the day against No. 5 Thunder Basin.
Rock Springs came out strong against Thunder Basin, taking the opening set 25-16 against the ranked opponent. The Lady Tigers came within two points of taking the match in straight sets, but Thunder Basin pulled out a 27-25 victory in the second set. Thunder Basin then won the deciding set 25-17.
Rock Springs responded Saturday with a pair of sweeps. The Lady Tigers opened the day with a 25-13, 25-19 victory over Cheyenne South before defeating Campbell County 25-20, 25-22. The 25-13 opening-set win against South was one of Rock Springs’ most dominant stretches of the tournament and helped set the tone for the Lady Tigers’ turnaround on the second day.
After going winless Friday, Rock Springs finished Saturday with two wins without dropping a set.
The tournament provided an early test for both Sweetwater County programs against several of the state’s top teams. For Green River, the weekend showed the Lady Wolves can continue to compete at a high level following last year’s run to the state championship match. For Rock Springs, the opening weekend provided both adversity and encouraging signs as the Lady Tigers showed growth to start their second season under head coach Casey Rood.
