LANDER – The Pinedale High School Lady Wrangler volleyball team came out strong against tough opponents in their tournaments this weekend.

The action featured four matches against 3A teams Pinedale will likely see again in the postseason, along with 2A Thermopolis.

The Lady Wranglers battled each opponent through four intense, neck-and-neck sets. True to form, the Lady Wranglers came together when it mattered most to defeat Worland, Lovell and Thermopolis in the fourth tie-breaking set to capture three wins at the tournament.

Pinedale fell to Cody, 3-1, in the first game, though not without a fight by the Lady Wranglers, especially in a fourth set that went beyond 26 points.

Cody

Pinedale came out swinging in the first match against the Cody varsity squad who took third at state last year in 4A. Pinedale won the first set 25-19. 

The Cody team rallied to win the next two sets, 16-25 and 14-25. The Lady Wranglers came out strong in the fourth set, playing point-for-point until they fell, 26-28. 

Junior Erin Murphy had four aces and 13 assists. Senior Gabriella Rogers had four aces and 11 digs. Senior Sarah Helm had two aces. 

Junior Alyxis White had 13 kills and 13 digs. Senior Karsyn Henn had 11 assists and five digs. 

On defense, senior Paiyzli Baker had two block assists and Mae McGuire, also a senior, had three blocks. 

Senior Madeline Hawke had four kills and junior Charlotte Hawke had seven.

Worland

White led offensively with 18 kills and hit .244, followed by Charlotte Hawke’s seven kills, Madeline Hawk’s five at .250 and four blocks and McGuire’s three kills. 

Rogers had 21 digs and three aces. White also had three aces, while junior Erica Wilson had an ace and two digs. Junior Megan Boulter had an ace. 

Murphy had two aces, a dig and 13 assists. Henn had one ace, two digs and 15 assists. Rounding out stats, senior Kaycee Finck had two block assists. 

Lovell
Saturday morning in the first game of the day, the Lady Wranglers squared off against Lovell. The Lady Bulldogs beat the third-place team at state last year, Lyman, on Friday night. 

Pinedale battled through four sets for another win, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 19-25, and 25-20). 

The whole team contributed to the win, with exceptional hitting percentages by White with 22 kills and five aces. 

Charlotte Hawke had 17 kills at .500, along with two aces. 

McGuire shot at .455 with seven kills and two blocks. Madeline Hawke had three kills with no errors. 

Murphy and Henn played setters. Murphy had 22 assists and digs digs and Karson Henn had 23 assists and eight digs.

Rogers had 15 digs, Sarah Helm had 13, and Erica Wilson had two aces and two digs. 

Coach Covill said that’s the best she has seen them play.

Thermopolis

After a long day, the Lady Wranglers met Thermopolis and won the first set, 25-19, along with the second set, 25-17. Pinedale lost the third set, 19-25. 

In the fourth, the Lady Wranglers played point for point until the score was 20-20. After Pinedale missed a serve, Thermopolis jumped to 24. 

The Lady Wranglers showed their fighting spirit as they held the opponents and battled back with six straight points to win the set, 26-24. 

White posted 15 kills, hit .333, added 13 digs and had two aces. Charlotte Hawke had nine kills, three aces and four digs. 

McGuire had six aces, three kills, hit .600 and had two blocks. Baker had two kills and one block. Madeline Hawke had two kills and three blocks. 

Henn tallied four aces, 21 assists, and six digs. Rogers had two aces and 14 digs. Murphy contributed two aces, seven digs and 14 assists. Helm had three aces. Boulter’s pair of aces and kill at the end were huge.  

The Lady Wranglers were thrilled with their 3-1 start to the season and showed impressive promise and resilience throughout the weekend.