CHALLENGE MET

Lady Buffs go undefeated at last tournament before conference play

The Buffs dominated in the Western Wyoming Volleyball Challenge in Greybull over the weekend. 

“We were able to play some of the southwest teams that we have not seen yet and won’t see again until the regional tournament,” Coach Sara Schlattmann said. 

“I think we played more steady and didn’t allow as many runs throughout the matches.  That is an important part of staying competitive.”

The Buffs crushed Kemmerer, 25-14, 25-15 and Wyoming Indian 25-15, 25-11 on Friday and came back just as strong on Saturday, downing Cokeville 25-22, 25-11 and Big Piney 25-13, 25-17. 

Schlattmann noted that the team brought more aggressive serving to last weekend’s tourney, which lowered their serving percentage, but helped their overall game. Ellie Holloway, Wyatt Whaley and Camila Acuna still sank over 90% of their serves. Marlee Henson had eight aces and Caitlyn Hunt five. 

At the net, Perla Rodriguez led the Buffs with 25 kills, followed by Holloway with 21, Henson with 18 and Acuna with 12. Whaley provided 76 assists and Shayne Cheatham covered the back row with 13 digs. 

This week, the Buffs open  conference play against Rocky Mountain on Friday, followed by Thermopolis on Saturday. Schlattmann expected they would be competitive matches. 

“We haven’t seen either of these teams play, but I know that both teams have big hitters that we will have to defend and aggressive serving,” Schlattmann said.  “We are excited to get underway with conference play.  I am very proud of how our team is progressing and we talk about incremental improvement each day and each week.”

The Buffs continue to build the speed of their offense to compete with the pace of other teams in the region and state. 

The Buffs travel to Cowley on Friday, JV will play at 4 p.m. and varsity at 5 p.m. 

On Saturday they go to Thermop, playing at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.