Grizz drop two matches in difficult weekend of play
By:
Ryan Fitzmaurice
The Grizz faced the best volleyball teams Class 2A volleyball has to offer last weekend and struggled accordingly.
With two weekend losses, the Grizz now sit with a record of 10-12-3 and are 2-2 in conference play.
First came Big Horn, the top ranked 2A team in the state. The Lady Grizz started the Friday home match strong, dropping a competitive 25-18 first set and then taking the second set 25-19.
Coach Stephanie Ames said there were a lot of promising flashes early on in the match, especially against such a high-quality opponent.
“I think we played them pretty well; taking one set was a plus,” Ames said. “ Our first two games were our best. We just weren’t able to keep the momentum up.”
In the third set the Lady Grizz fell apart, losing 25-10. They didn’t have enough of a bounce back in a conclusive 25-16 fourth set, giving the match 3-1 to Big Horn.
“When we cover, we play well, and when we communicate, we play well,” Ames said. “We’ve got to work on playing that way the whole time rather than one or two sets.”
Lauren Bassett led the team with 13 kills. MacKelle Moss and Shelby Wambeke had five kills. Brittly Boettcher scored four, and Kaitey Christensen and Rylee Winland had two kills.
Wambeke led the team with 13 assists, Boetcher and Keylee Christiansen had five, Winland
had two.
Bassett, Boettcher and Winland all had two aces,.Moss and Christiansen both had 100 percent serving records in the match.
Boettcher topped the team with eight digs. Moss and Christiansen had seven, Layla Gardner had six. Bassett recorded five, Christensen four, Winland three, Wambeke two.
Moss had four block assists in the match, and Christiansen had three, Bassett two.
On Saturday, the Grizz squared off against conference leader Greybull in a game that Ames
said was a poor showing for the team.
“We did not get off the bus in Greybull. We didn’t pass well, cover well, or hit well. We flat out did not play well,” Ames said. “Our stats are bleak, and the score was bleak.”
Rocky Mountain dropped the first set 25-15, dropped the second set 25-18 and lost the third set 25-15 in the 3-0 Greybull victory.
Boettcher and Bassett led the team with six kills each. Moss had three, and Christensen had two.
Wambeke had seven assists, Christensen and Christiansen four each.
Moss and Boettcher had one ace each. Moss, Boettcher and Wambeke all posted 100 percent serving percentages.
Gardner led the team with nine digs, and Bassett had seven, Boettcher six, Wambeke four. Moss recorded three digs.
Moss had one single block and two block assists in the match. Bassett, Christensen and Wambeke all had one block assist.
The Grizz will next play Worland in a 6 p.m. away match Thursday, with the JV squad playing at 5 p.m. and the freshmen at 4.
The Grizz will then have a home match against the Shoshoni Wranglers on Saturday. JV will tip
off at 1 p.m., with varsity playing at 2 p.m.