CASPER — After qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in seven years, the Rock Springs Lady Tigers volleyball team heads up to Casper to compete for a state title. The state tournament begins on Thursday, November 7, and finishes on Saturday, November 9.
Rock Springs enters the tournament as a number two seed in the west conference. The Lady Tigers earned the second seed after a 2-1 record during regionals last week in Cody. The team also finished the regular season with a record of 23-8.
Follow along and check back on this post for scores, recaps and updates from the state tournament.
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Thursday, November 7, 2019
#2 Rock Springs 0 vs #3 Thunder Basin 3 – 25-16, 25-17, 25-22
The Lady Tigers’ first-round matchup against the Lady Bolts on Thursday evening ended Rock Springs’ chances at a state title. Thunder Basin swept the Lady Tigers in three sets. Rock Springs will now compete in the consolation bracket.
Rock Springs struggled to find scoring runs throughout Thursday’s opening match. In the first set, Thunder Basin took a 25-16 victory and carried that momentum into the second set with a 25-17 performance.
In the third set, the Lady Tigers did make a late comeback after finding themselves down 24-18. Rock Springs cut the Lady Bolts’ lead to 24-22. After a timeout, Thunder Basin ended the match by scoring their last point.
The Lady Tigers are now out of the picture for a state title, but now have their eyes set upon the consolation championship. Rock Springs will take on Riverton Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The Lady Tigers have beaten Riverton three times this year in four matchups.
Friday, November 8, 2019
#2 Rock Springs 1 vs #4 Riverton 3 – 21-25, 24-26, 28-26, 21-25
After getting knocked out of the state title race yesterday, Rock Springs looked to rebound after Thursday night’s loss. The Lady Tigers took on a familiar foe on Friday afternoon in the 4A state volleyball consolation bracket. The match was decided in four sets (21-25, 24-26, 28-26, 21-25) in favor of the Riverton Wolverines. The loss ends the season for the Lady Tigers and the team will not play on Saturday.
In the first set, both teams kept the game close with one another. Rock Springs came out swinging and played with a chip on their shoulder. However, Riverton managed to put a short scoring run together after tying the match at 21. The Lady Wolverines scored four unanswered points to take the first set 25-21.
The second set followed a similar story to the opening set. Rock Springs played from behind for most of the set before coming back late and tying the match at 24. Needing to win by two, Riverton got the job done and claimed the second set 26-24.
Rock Springs found life in the third set. Facing elimination, the Lady Tigers fought tooth and nail to the end. After exchanging leads and tying five times, the Lady Tigers earned their first set of the state tournament 28-26.
The fourth set put out any flames of hope that the third set had sparked. Riverton once again established a lead and maintained it to win 25-21 over Rock Springs.
