RIVERTON – Memories of last season have been put to bed and new goals have been set as high school athletes returned to action this weekend. For Wyoming volleyball teams, early tournaments broke out as nets went up all over the state.

The Rock Springs Lady Tigers traveled to Riverton to compete in the Riverton Invitational. Many of the other top 4A schools opened play at the tournament as well. When it comes to these early tournaments, instead of the normal five-game matches, teams play the best of three. Coaches use these early tournaments to look at all their players and see how they react in game situations. They are also a good tool to get back in the swing of competitions and help build team chemistry.

Over the weekend, the Lady Tigers played six games in two days. On Friday, Rock Springs battled Cheyenne Central, Laramie and Cheyenne East.

Against Central, the ladies of Rock Springs went to a third and deciding game. Central took a close first game 25-23 but Rock Springs came right back to even the match at 1 game apiece with a 25-19 win in game two. The third game was a close battle as Central was able to pull out the win, 15-13,  to take the 2-1 win.

Rock Springs faced Laramie next and controlled the match from the first serve. The Lady Tigers rolled in the first game, 25-13 and followed it with a 25-13 win in game two to sweep Laramie.

The final game on Friday was against Cheyenne East. Again, Rock Springs made it close as the match went all three games. Central took game one by two points, 25-23, and like the match against Central earlier, the Lady Tigers evened the match with a 25-19 in the second. The third and deciding game was close but the Lady Tigers came up just short losing 15-13 to East.

On Saturday, it was back to work for Rock Springs with another three games on the schedule. The Lady Tigers faced off against conference foe Kelly Walsh in a non-conference match. A  recurring theme followed Rock Springs from Friday to Saturday as the Lady Tigers and Lady Trojans needed all three games to decide a winner. Kelly Walsh rolled in game one with a 25-16 win. Just like they did on Friday, the Lady Tigers came right back to take the second game, 25-22. The Lady Trojans were able to take game three, 15-10, for the win.

Facing off against two Cheyenne teams on Friday was not enough as the Lady Tigers took on Cheyenne South next. Throughout the tournament, Rock Springs lost most of the first games in the matches they played. Against South, the Lady Tigers broke through to take game one, 25-18. The second game was a close battle as South tied the match at one game apiece with a 25-24 win. The Lady Tigers were again bit by the third game as South took the match with a 15-6 win in the tiebreaker.

For the final game of the weekend, the Lady Tigers took on Sheridan. Once again, the Lady Tigers battled hard and was able to squeak out the first-game win, 25-24. This time around, the Lady Tigers came out strong in the second game and swept Sheridan in two with a 25-19 win.

The Lady Tigers will return to action next weekend as they will make their way to Gillette for the second tournament of the season.