The Powell High School volleyball team returned home with a 2-3 record, as the Panthers went 2-1 in pool play before two straight losses in the gold bracket on Saturday in Cokeville.

COKEVILLE INVITE

Starting the weekend the Panthers (2-3) took on 2A Kemmerer (1-4).

In a slow first set, the Panthers fell to the Wranglers 25-23, before returning the favor with two straight wins of 25-18 and 25-16 to take the 2-1 win.

Taking on an out-of-state opponent the Panthers again lost the first set 25-11 to Bear Lake, Idaho.

Powell won a close second set 25-23, before losing the final set 25-13. Bear Lake went on to be the eventual tournament winner. The Panthers were the only Wyoming team to take a set from the champions.

“Playing tough teams early in the year is critical because it highlights our weaknesses right away. That allows us to adjust our practice focus and better prepare for the rest of the season,” coach Anna Flitner said. “It also helps us improve the mental part of the game that we will need when the stakes are higher during regionals.”

Ending the day against a team out of Rich, Utah, the Panthers competed for every point in all three sets.

The Panthers took each set reaching the scoring limit for pool play in the tournament, as Powell won the first set 27-25 before winning the second and third sets by identical 27-26 scorelines.

Heading into Saturday the Panthers made their way into the gold bracket, matching up with Preston, Idaho.

Close sets again proved to be the undoing of the Panthers, as they fell in the first two sets 25-23, before being swept in the final set 25-21.

“We need to learn how to close out sets when we’re fatigued or experiencing a slump. We had some fantastic moments, but we also let a few leads slip away in tight 23-25 losses. If we can learn to pull together and convert under pressure in those critical moments, it will make a massive difference for us,” Flitner said. “I also think that our serve-receive looks pretty good in practice, but I would really like to see our serving improve, to help us when we face more challenging serving teams and to keep other teams out of system.”

Dropping down to the consolation bracket, the Panthers took on a fellow 3A West opponent in Mountain View (3-3).

The Panthers fell in the first set 25-23 and again in the second set 25-17.

Powell earned the third set win 25-19 before falling in the fourth 25-15.

No stats were available for the weekend.

Despite the losing record, Flitner felt like she saw a continued effort from the girls in doing things they started building last season.

“I feel like our girls did a great job continuing things that we worked hard on last year,” Flitner said. “For example, we worked a lot on throws to deep corners and a quicker offense, and I saw a conscious effort from the girls on many of those things.”

EVANSTON TOURNAMENT

The Panthers head southwest to continue the early season tournaments, as they head down to Evanston to take part in a tournament on Friday and Saturday.

“I want to see us play as a more cohesive unit, especially when we face adversity,” Flitner said. “Volleyball is such a momentum sport; it’s an absolute blast when you’re celebrating each other’s success, but it can get heavy fast if players turn inward and dwell on individual mistakes. I want to see us lift each other up and ride a positive, shared energy.”

Information for the Evanston schedule was unavailable as of press time.