EVANSTON – Playing eight volleyball games over the course of two days is a true test of a team’s grit, and the Pinedale High School Lady Wranglers rose to the challenge at the annual Border Wars Tournament on Sept. 1-2.

The event, hosted by Evanston High School, featured teams from across Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Teams played the best of three sets to 25 points with the tie-breaking third set played to 15 points.

Over the course of an action-packed weekend, the Lady Wranglers posted four wins at the tournament against a variety of out-of-state opponents.

Pinedale battled down to the final point in each game during the long weekend. In the games where Pinedale fell short, the result often came down to the wire with the winner determined by one or two points.

“The Border Wars are always a fun tournament with lots of volleyball,” said Head Coach Tamara Currah. “The girls played great on Friday with varsity winning two games. The team lost two games, but played very competitively against some really good teams. On Saturday, we were down four girls who were injured. Although we missed them greatly, the girls stepped up and played tough. The games were neck-and-neck and competitive.”

Following a few days of rest, the Lady Wranglers boarded the bus to play non-conference 1A Cokeville on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Despite a fight by Pinedale, the Lady Wranglers came up short, 3-0.

Border Wars Day 1

The opening game pitted Pinedale against a team from Manila, Utah. Determined to begin the tournament with a win, the Lady Wranglers triumphed, 2-0. Pinedale won a close first set, 25-23 and trounced Manila in the second set, 25-12.

Advancing to play Rigby, Idaho, Pinedale came up short in two closely contested sets. Battling beyond 25 points in the first set, Pinedale fell by a single point, 27-26. The second set also proved to be tight, with Rigby winning by only 3 points, 25-22.

The third game pitted Pinedale against Grace High School in Idaho. Grace pulled out a 2-0 win (25-16 and 25-21).

Regrouping for the final game, the Lady Wranglers slammed down a 2-0 win against Soda Springs, Idaho. Pinedale handily defeated Soda Springs in the first set, 25-17. The second set went past 25 points with the Lady Wranglers scoring the decisive point to secure a 27-26 victory.

Day 2

The competition intensified on the second day of the tournament as Pinedale squared off against South Summit High School from Kamas, Utah.

South Summit won the first set, 25-15. Undaunted, the Lady Wranglers rallied to defeat South Summit in the second set, 25-22. Pinedale snagged a 15-12 victory in the third tie-breaker set.

The subsequent game featured a showdown between the Lady Wranglers and North Summit High School, located in Coalville, Utah. Pinedale fell in two neck-and-neck sets to North Summit. North Summit edged ahead in the first set, 25-21. The Lady Wranglers forced the second set beyond 25 points, with North Summit winning by a narrow 26-24 margin.

Next up, Pinedale dueled Uintah High School from Vernal, Utah, in three extremely close sets. Uintah won the first set by only 2 points, 25-23. Rallying in the second set, the Lady Wranglers defeated Uintah, 27-26. The tie-breaker came down to the wire with Uintah winning, 15-13, for a 2-1 victory.

Finishing the tournament on a high note, the Lady Wranglers knocked out Murray, Utah, 2-0. Following a close first set that saw Pinedale win, 26-24, the Lady Wranglers went on to trounce Murray in the second set, 25-12.

Pinedale competes at the Rawlins Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9.