LANDER – Trial by fire – the Wyoming high school volleyball season commenced with a weekend of action-packed, grueling tournaments across the state. The Pinedale High School Lady Wranglers’ volleyball team rose to the occasion at the two-day Lander Invite hosted by Lander High School on Aug. 25-26.

On Friday, Pinedale rallied from a tough 3-0 defeat against non-conference rival 4A Cody to score a decisive 3-1 win against 3A Powell, a team the Lady Wranglers will likely see again in the postseason.

Pinedale battled 4A Sheridan through five epic sets that came down to the wire on Saturday. Both teams pulled out all the stops and fought to a 2-2 draw. Sheridan won the tiebreaker by a narrow margin to claim a 3-2 victory.

Unshaken, the Lady Wranglers handily defeated 2A Shoshoni in a clean sweep, 3-0, Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Tamara Currah expressed delight in the team’s solid performance over the weekend.

“Overall, the girls played great and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” she said. “I’m excited to see them grow this year and get better with each game we play.”

Cody

Cody proved a tough opponent. The 2022 4A State runners-up handed down a 25-10 win in the first set against Pinedale at the Lander Tournament.

Refusing to throw in the towel, the Lady Wranglers gave the Lady Fillies a run for their money in a closely contested second set. Pinedale took the initiative at 10 points and remained ahead until Cody closed the gap for the win, 25-21. The Lady Fillies went on to win the third set, 25-14.

“Cody has a strong program and I was really excited to play them,” said Coach Currah. “I felt that we got better with each game and by the second set, the girls were able to get their nerves out and start to play. I was really impressed with how they didn’t give up and our level of play improved with each set.”

Powell

Recovering from Cody, the Lady Wranglers roared onto the court with determination and defeated 3A opponent Powell in the first set, 25-18. Pinedale struck with ferocity in the second set, scoring a 25-19 win.

Powell turned the tables in the third set to take the win, 25-19.

Regrouping, the Lady Wranglers pulled ahead of the Lady Panthers by 5 points to beat Powell, 25-20, in the fourth set and seal a 3-1 victory.

“The girls came out fighting after the loss to Cody,” said Coach Currah. “I felt that in this game, I had girls swinging hard and our defense and passing game was amazing. They really had fun and they were playing as a team. This was a great win for us and it gave me a glimpse of the team’s potential this year.”

Sheridan

Fearlessly stepping onto the court to take on 4A Sheridan, the Lady Wranglers fought the Lady Broncs to a 2-2 draw following four nail-biter sets.

Pinedale quickly found its rhythm in the first set and crushed Sheridan, 25-18. The Lady Broncs answered back in the second set with a 25-19 win.

Rejecting thoughts of giving up, the Lady Wranglers edged ahead by 3 points at the end of the third set to snag a 25-22 victory.

Sheridan won the fourth set, 25-17, and the game went into a tiebreaking fifth set. Despite strong resistance from the Lady Wranglers, Sheridan managed to pull ahead, 15-8, for the win.

“After the first set it was a battle back and forth,” said Coach Currah. “It really was some hard-fought volleyball. We came up a little short but we fought all the way to the end of the fifth set.”

Shoshoni

Showing no mercy, Pinedale trounced Shoshoni, 25-9, in the first set.

The Lady Wranglers shut down attempts by Shoshoni to make headway in the next two sets, winning by a comfortable margin of 25-18 in the second set and 25-17 in the third.

“This was a great win to have at the end of the tournament,” said Coach Currah.

Tournament play continues this weekend with the Lady Wranglers traveling to the Evanston Tournament on Sept. 1-2.