In a busy week on the road the Powell High School volleyball team returned home with a 4-1 record, defeating Lander last Tuesday 3-2 before going 3-1 at the 3A West Conference Duals in Mountain View. Powell defeated Pinedale, Lyman and Rawlins and only lost to the hosts on Saturday.

POWELL 3, LANDER 2

In another close and competitive matchup on Tuesday the Panthers (19-11 overall, 6-2 3A West) took on the Tigers (15-13 overall, 3-5 3A West).

Powell had the lead early in the first set before the hosts gained the advantage midway through and pulled ahead for a 25-17 win.

The Panthers dominated the second set, building a double-digit lead and earning a 25-16 win to tie the match 1-1.

Lander earned just enough points in the third set to pull away at the end and earn a 25-22 win to take the 2-1 lead.

Powell responded once again and earned a close win to take a 25-21 win and force a fifth set.

The Panthers pulled ahead after a close start in the decisive set, as they took a 15-10 win to complete the regular season sweep of the Tigers.

“It was great to pick up another win over Lander. I think we’ve really improved when it comes to closing out tight sets like that this year,” coach Anna Flitner said.

POWELL 3, LYMAN 0

Powell then traveled further southwest on Friday and Saturday to take part in the 3A West Conference Duals.

The Panthers started off against the Lyman Eagles (8-21 overall, 1-6 3A West), where Powell won a close first set 25-23.

Powell then settled into the driver’s seat, as the Panthers recorded wins of 25-17 and 25-15 to complete the sweep of the Eagles.

POWELL 3, PINEDALE 1

Ending Friday the Panthers took on Pinedale (10-17-2 overall, 2-5 3A West).

Powell carried its momentum from Lyman and took a 25-15 first set win, and won the second 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead.

The Wranglers held off the sweep with a 25-22 third set win, but Powell finished the match in the fourth set with a 25-21 win.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 3, POWELL 2

Heading into Saturday the Panthers took on the host Buffalos (21-8-1 overall, 6-1 3A West).

Powell lost the first set 25-20, but responded with a 25-21 win in the second set.

Mountain View dominated the third set to take the 25-11 win, before Powell held off the Buffalos in the fourth and won 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set.

The Buffalos pulled ahead to earn the 15-11 win, giving the Panthers their only loss of the weekend.

POWELL 3, RAWLINS 0

Ending the duals the Panthers took on a newcomer to the 3A West in Rawlins (2-25 overall, 0-7 3A West).

The Panthers dominated the first set 25-13, but just held on 25-23 in the second.

Powell capped off the sweep with a 25-17 final set.

“Going 3-1 was a big achievement for us, especially with our libero out for the entire weekend,” Flitner said. “While I wish we could have pulled out the Mountain View match, securing a top-three seed is huge in our conference. We have several teams that will be fighting for state tournament spots, so setting ourselves up with a strong seed makes a huge difference.”

WEEKLY STATS

Over all five matches, Kaedenze Carter led with 52 kills, just ahead of Peyton Ott with 48, as Ava Brewer added 42 and Kindyle Floy had 32.

Leah Graham had 158 assists for the week, Carter led with 72 digs, Abigail Visocky had 63, Graham had 59, Floy had 55 and Maddie Valdez chipped in 43.

Floy led with 10.5 blocks, six of them solo, Autumn Kidd added six, four of them solo, and Brewer had 4.5 blocks with two of them being solo.

Valdez led with five aces, Floy had four, Graham and Carter had three each, Visocky had two and Lucy Ostermiller had one.

SEASON SLOWS DOWN

After five matches in five days last week Powell’s schedule slows down significantly. The Panthers have one match this week and one match next week to end the year, both at home.

“With a lighter schedule, I really want us to focus on our defense against off-speed shots, as well as refining our own ball control and shot placement,” Flitner said.

The match this week comes against Worland (13-11-2 overall, 4-3 3A West) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, a team the Panthers defeated 3-1 in September.

“I expect another battle this week. On our end, we need to keep working on reading the block better or speeding up our offense,” Flitner said. “In game situations, we sometimes fall into a rhythm of going for the same shot, so we really need to focus on translating what we do in practice into the games.”

MATCH STATS

(All fives matches from Lander and Conference Duals)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Kaedenze Carter 52, Peyton Ott 48, Ava Brewer 42, Kindyle Floy 32, Autumn Kidd 12, Leah Graham 10, Abigail Visocky 4, Maddie Valdez 1

Assists — Leah Graham 158, Kaedenze Carter 8, Kindyle Floy 7, Abigail Visocky 5, Ava Teten 2, Maddie Valdez 1

Digs — Kaedenze Carter 72, Abigail Visocky 63, Leah Graham 59, Kindyle Floy 55, Maddie Valdez 43, Ava Teten 18, Peyton Ott 16, Ava Brewer 10, Autumn Kidd 5, Lucy Ostermiller 5

Blocks — Kindyle Floy 10.5 (6), Autumn Kidd 6 (4), Ava Brewer 4.5 (2), Leah Graham 1, Kaedenze Carter 1, Peyton Ott 1

Aces — Maddie Valdez 5, Kindyle Floy 4, Leah Graham 3, Kaedenze Carter 3, Abigail Visocky 2, Lucy Ostermiller 1

3A WEST STANDINGS

(Overall record then conference record)

1. Lovell 22-1 overall, 7-0 3A West

2. Mountain View 21-8-1 overall, 6-1 3A West

3. Powell 19-11 overall, 6-2 3A West

4. Worland 13-11-2 overall, 4-3 3A West

5. Lander 15-13 overall, 3-5 3A West

6. Pinedale 10-17-2 overall, 2-5 3A West

7. Lyman 8-21 overall, 1-6 3A West

8. Rawlins 2-25 overall, 0-7 3A West