A homecoming conference match alongside a road nonconference matchup allowed the Powell Panther volleyball team to test out a new rotation as the Panthers swept Lovell at home Thursday and Thermopolis on the road Saturday.

POWELL 3, LOVELL 0

(25-21, 25-21, 25-21)

Continuing conference action at home on Thursday the Panthers (17-5-1 overall, 2-1 3A Northwest) looked to rebound against the Bulldogs (10-8 overall, 0-3 3A Northwest).

Lovell came out and took the lead early against the hosts up 9-6, before the Panthers made a push in the middle of the set to take the lead 14-13.

Powell built on that advantage, making it 21-18 before the Panthers finished the first set with a 25-21 win.

The hosts came out stronger and took an 11-8 lead before a rally made it 14-12 in favor of the Bulldogs and forced a timeout from Powell.

Lovell continued to lead, until the Panthers found a way back to tie the set at 20 a piece and force a Lovell timeout.

Powell claimed the lead and finished with another 25-21 win.

In the third set the Panthers jumped out to 11-4 and then 17-7 leads and appeared headed towards an easy win to complete the sweep.

Lovell did not go away, cutting the lead down to as close as 22-18 and forcing a Powell timeout.

Powell held off the late rally and ended with another 25-21 win to complete the sweep.

“That was probably one of the best games that we’ve played this season, especially in terms of consistency throughout the three sets,” coach Anna Flitner said. “They were scrappy against Lovell, and we were working on some free ball plays. They executed there and had a little bit of a faster offense.”

Addison Holcomb led with 12 kills and three aces.

Catelynn Floy added 10 kills and nine digs.

Leah Graham led with 30 assists, while Alexa Richardson led with 12 digs.

“It’s always hard switching from setter to setter when you’re a hitter. So we tried running a 5-1 [offense], and I felt like Leah was kind of ready to take on that role,” Flitner said. “I think it worked well for us.”

Saige Kidd and Kodee Asay tied for the team lead with two blocks.

POWELL 3, THERMOPOLIS 0

(25-21, 25-23, 25-15)

Heading down the road to Thermopolis on Saturday the Panthers hoped to carry their momentum against the now 2A Bobcats (9-12 overall, 1-2 2A Northwest).

It took a little time for the Panthers to get going, as it was close in the first and second sets but the Panthers held on for 25-21 and 25-23 victories.

Heading into the third, the Panthers found their groove, cruising to a 25-15 win to wrap up a busy week.

“It was nice to play a team that we typically don’t play. It’s also nice sometimes to realize what our weaknesses are in terms of travel,” Flitner said. “It took us about two sets to actually play at the level that we typically play at. The first two we were just really slow. We were on our heels and then in the third set we started to wake up.”

Floy led with 14 kills, just ahead of Kidd who had 11 kills and led with 3.5 blocks and Holcomb who had 11 kills and led with three aces.

Graham led with 35 assists, Alexa Richardson led with 15 digs, Peyton Borcher had 11 digs and Holcomb added 10 as the other Panther with double digit digs.

CONFERENCE DUALS

Powell heads on the road for one of the most important weekends of the season, playing in the 3A West conference duals in Pinedale.

The Panthers will take on all four 3A Southwest teams over two days, starting with Lyman (13-10 overall, 3-0 3A Southwest) at 1 p.m. on Friday and Lander (8-10 overall, 1-2 3A Southwest) at 3 p.m.

Powell will then take on host Pinedale (15-7-1 overall, 2-1 3A Southwest) at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Mountain View (14-10 overall, 0-3 3A Southwest) at noon.

“The goal for this week, I mean, we’ve seen all the teams in our conference play. I truly want the girls to take some pressure off themselves,” Flitner said. “I think they hold themselves to a high standard in game situations, which is great, but I want us to remember that volleyball is such a fun sport and they play with other girls that they love. So I really want them to find the joy in that.”

POWELL 3, LOVELL 0

(25-21, 25-21, 25-21)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Addison Holcomb 12, Catelynn Floy 10, Saige Kidd 8, Kodee Asay 4, Kaedenze Carter 1

Assists — Leah Graham 30, Saige Kidd 1, Ava Teten 1

Digs — Alexa Richardson 12, Catelynn Floy 9, Ava Teten 9, Addison Holcomb 7, Saige Kidd 4, Leah Graham 4, Peyton Borcher 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 2, Kodee Asay 2, Leah Graham 1 (1), Addison Holcomb 1, Kaedenze Carter .5, Catelynn Floy .5

Aces — Addison Holcomb 3, Leah Graham 1

POWELL 3, THERMOPOLIS 0

(25-21, 25-23, 25-15)

Kills — Catelynn Floy 14, Saige Kidd 11, Addison Holcomb 11, Kaedenze Carter 4, Kodee Asay 2, Leah Graham 1

Assists — Leah Graham 35, Peyton Borcher 1, Alexa Richardson 1, Kodee Asay 1, Addison Holcomb 1

Digs — Alexa Richardson 15, Peyton Borcher 11, Addison Holcomb 10, Catelynn Floy 9, Leah Graham 9, Saige Kidd 2, Kodee Asay 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 3.5 (1), Leah Graham 2.5, Catelynn Floy 1 (1), Kaedenze Carter .5, Addison Holcomb .5

Aces — Addison Holcomb 3, Peyton Borcher 2, Leah Graham 2, Saige Kidd 1