Opening the conference season on the road Tuesday night at Worland the Powell Panther volleyball team fought hard but came up short against the Warriors in a five-set match 3-2.

WORLAND 3, POWELL 2

(25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13)

Turning around after a long weekend for both teams the Panthers (11-8-1 overall, 0-1 3A West) and the Warriors (7-3-2 overall, 1-0 3A West) were looking for a good start in the conference season.

Powell has continued to battle in the early season, despite a shifting rotation each match due to injuries.

“I think players adjusted really well to having to play in different positions throughout the match,” coach Anna Flitner said. “For example, shoutout to Leah Graham, it is not an easy job to be a middle blocker and a setter.”

Worland got off to the stronger start, building a 15-10 lead in the first set.

That lead held throughout much of the set, before the Warriors finished with a 25-22 win to take a 1-0 lead.

Powell responded in the second set, taking a 10-7 lead and expanding on it throughout the middle of the set to take an 18-11 lead and force a timeout by the hosts.

The Panthers held as large as a 23-14 lead but a late surge by Worland tightened the final scoreline to 25-21 as Powell tied the match 1-1.

In the third it was Worland which led midway through, before making it a 15-11 contest and forcing a Panther timeout.

Powell fought back and kept getting within two points but the Panthers were unable to tie or take the lead before Worland pulled away late for a 25-20 win.

In the fourth set Worland again built a lead and forced timeouts early from the Panthers.

After trailing 15-10 the Panthers battled back and tied the match at 18 to force a timeout from the hosts, before Powell finished the set strong and earned a 25-21 win.

Heading into their first fifth set of the season the Panthers fell behind early, calling a timeout trailing 5-3 and 10-6.

The Panthers clawed their way back, closing the gap down to 11-10 and forcing a Worland timeout before eventually tying it at 13 a piece.

Worland stopped the Panther rally and finished with a 15-13 win to take the conference opening victory.

Despite the loss, Flitner felt the Panthers are starting to come together while continuing to develop each area of their game heading into a more normal routine for the regular season.

“I think we can see the potential we have as a team, we just have to figure out how to put it together,” Flitner said. “In our upcoming practices we need to continue to develop our shots and seeing around the block. We also need to be more disciplined on defense including blocking.”

FIRST HOME MATCHES

The Panthers have been on the road for the first several weeks of the season and now return home this week for their first home matches of the year.

That starts with a match against 2A Rocky Mountain (10-4) at 6 p.m. today (Thursday).

“It will be nice to have a home match to have a break from being on the road and also experience the home court advantage and have a crowd supporting us,” Flitner said.

Powell then plays against the top team in the state next Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a matchup against the rival Cody Fillies (19-1 overall, 1-0 3A West).