Rocky and Lovell middle school volleyball squad continue with their busy schedules

With the end of the volleyball season drawing near, Rocky Mountain and Lovell middle schools have continued to compete in their seasons.

“The Lady Grizz are doing some great things,” Rocky Mountain coach Lacey Bassett said. “Our A team is very young, and I am so proud of their progress.”

Rocky had the opportunity to compete against Greybull on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The A team’s close competition with the Buffs resulted in a loss in two sets, 25-22 in each. Rocky’s B team beat Greybull in two sets, with a score of 25-20 in each. The C team beat the Buffs 25-23 in the first set but lost the second set 25-14. The match ended with the Lady Grizz pulling through and winning the third set 15-8.

The next game for the Rocky Middle School volleyball athletes was at Meeteetse on Thursday, Sept. 18. In this matchup, only the A and C teams played against the Meeteetse Longhorns, both ending in victories for the Lady Grizz. The A team played a close first set, winning 26-24. Rocky athletes safely secured their win in the next set by beating the Longhorns 25-11. The C team started the match with a lost set, falling 25-22. Catching up in the second set, the Lady Grizz beat Meeteetse 25-22. Rocky went on to win the third set and match with a score of 15-6.

The next matchup for Rocky Mountain Middle School was against Riverside in Basin on September 20. All matches against the Rebels ended with wins for the Lady Grizz. The A team won in two sets, 25-22 and 25-23. The B team had similar results, winning their matches 25-12 in both. The C team also beat Riverside in two sets, 25-17 and 25-19.

The Lady Grizz went up against the Powell Panthers next in Powell on September 22. The A team match versus Powell’s eighth grade A team was a competitive one for the Lady Grizz, ending in a loss in two sets, 25-21 and 25-19. The Rocky Mountain B team went up against Powell’s seventh grade A team and lost both sets, 25-16 and 25-9. The Lady Grizz C team against the Panthers’ seventh grade B team began with a lost first set, 25-16. Rocky Mountain came back from that loss set to win the last two sets 25-16 and 15-13.

The Lady Grizz returned home Saturday against the Shoshoni Wranglers. The A team fell to the Wranglers in two sets, scoring 25-16 and 25-13. The B team won their first set 25-11. The second set was more competitive, with Shoshoni beating the Lady Grizz 25-20. Rocky Mountain pulled through in the third set to win the match with a score of 15-7. The C team lost the first set 25-11 but beat the Wranglers 25-13 in the second set. The Lady Grizz ultimately fell to Shoshoni 15-11 in the third set.

“We are coming close to the end of our season, and I think they are going to peak at the right time,” Bassett said. “Each game they improve, and we are working hard in practice on fundamentals.”

Lovell

Lovell Middle School played the Powell Panthers again on September 18 after going against them at a triangular. The eighth grade A team won their match in Powell easily in two sets, beating the Panthers 25-11 and 25-9. The eighth grade B team started off strong by winning their first set 25-15. Powell came through in the second set to beat the Bulldogs 25-21, but Lovell ended with the win, beating the Panthers 15-5 in the third set.

When the seventh grade A team hosted Powell, they won their first set 25-21. Despite this, Powell beat the Bulldogs 25-22 in the second set. In the third set, Lovell played a hard game, which resulted in a 15-13 victory for the Bulldogs. The seventh grade B team fell to the Panthers in two sets, scoring 25-20 and 25-21.

The next competition for the volleyball athletes was Worland on September 23. The eighth grade Bulldogs won their match against the Warriors in Worland in two sets, beating them 25-19 and 25-14. Though the eighth grade B team had a slow start, dropping the first set 25-10 to Worland, the Bulldogs won the match by beating the Warriors in the last two sets 25-19 and 15-10. 

The seventh grade volleyball girls competed well against Worland at home, beating the Warriors in two sets, 25-15 and 25-21. The B team had a close first set, winning 25-23. Worland pulled out a win in the second set, 25-14, pushing the teams into a third set. The Bulldogs fought hard to win the third set 15-13, securing the victory for the B team.

Following the matches against Worland, the Bulldogs had the opportunity to play Cody for the second time this season on Monday. The eighth grade A team lost to the Fillies in Cody 25-16 in the first set but fought back by winning the second set 25-20. The teams played a high scoring third set, which resulted in a win for Cody with a score of 19-17. The B team was able to beat the Fillies in two sets, 25-14 and 25-21. 

The Lady Bulldogs from seventh grade had a successful run against Cody at home, with both teams beating the Fillies. The A team secured the win in two sets, 25-12 and 25-20. The B team had similar results, winning the first two sets 25-21 and 25-13.

“We played super aggressive against Cody,” seventh grade head coach Marci Durtsche said. “We had lots of hustle plays and kills against a pretty tall and athletic Filly team.”

Rocky-Lovell

The Lady Grizz and Lady Bulldogs faced off in a match on Tuesday in Cowley. The Rocky A team versus the Lovell eighth grade A team ended in a victory for Lovell, 25-13 in the first set and 25-7 in the second set.

The Lovell seventh grade A team next competed against the Rocky B team for this matchup. Lovell won the first and second set against the Lady Grizz, 25-11 and 25-6. When the seventh grade B team played the Rocky Mountain C team, the Lady Grizz pulled through to win in two sets, 25-19 and 25-18.

The teams only have a few games left before they head to their conference tournaments to finish off their seasons. The Lady Grizz play in Burlington today (Thursday) at 4:15 p.m., in Thermopolis Saturday at 10 a.m. and in Greybull Monday at 4:15 p.m.

The Lovell netters play in a triangular Saturday, meeting Riverton at 10 a.m. and Lander at noon, with the seventh grade in Cody and the eighth grade in Lovell.