On Thursday, Nov. 7, after a four-hour bus ride to Casper, the Lady Panther Volleyball Team got off the bus and ordered some Jersey Mike’s subs before heading to the Ford Wyoming Center. 

In four sets, the Lady Panthers won against the Torrington Trailblazers. The Panthers pulled away in both the first and second sets and won 25-13. The Trailblazers took the third set 17-25, but the Panthers returned and won the fourth 25-21, with Saige Kidd killing the ball on game point. 

“I think it was a great boost of confidence for our team,” senior libero Alexa Richardson said. “It was also relieving to know that we weren’t going to be in the consolation bracket right off the bat.”

On Nov. 8, the girls played Douglas for a chance to play in the championship game. Unfortunately, they lost in the fifth set. In the first set, Powell called a time-out after Douglas took the lead 3-9. They proceeded to win the next point after coming back on; however, they lost the set 15-25. 

“I think we didn’t come out as fired up as we would’ve liked, ” Richardson said. “We had a little bit of trouble finding our rhythm.”

Powell won the second set 28-26, lost the third 21-25, won the fourth 25-14, but ultimately lost the fifth 8-15. 

In an upset, Douglas won 3A State against Cody in the championship. 

“I definitely did not expect [Douglas to beat Cody], however, we knew Douglas was going to show up to compete with Cody,” Richardson said. “Because we know Cody is a force to be reckoned with.”

On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Panthers played two games to battle back for third. They first played the Pinedale Wranglers, and then the Wheatland Bulldogs. 

The Powell girls won against the Wranglers in a clean three-set sweep. In the first set, they won 25-22, the second was an easy 25-7, and the third was 25-20. 

“Winning against Pinedale in three sets felt amazing,” senior Saige Kidd said. “Sometimes it can be hard to come back and play after such a tough loss the day before, but I think we showed up, showed what we are made of, and got the job done. It felt really good to get back in our groove.”

To earn third place, the Panthers needed to put the dogs down. In just three sets, they accomplished that.

In the first set, Wheatland used their first time-out when the Powell girls were up 11-4, and the Panthers won 25-12. 

The second set, the Panthers won 25-22, with Addison [Addi] Holcomb serving an ace for the win. 

The third set was much tighter, with the Panthers winning 26-24. Holcomb slammed a kill down to secure the set and third place. 

After state, the All-Conference Honors were released. Seniors Addison Holcomb, Saige Kidd, and Alexa Richardson obtained the honors.

“Honestly everyone on the team deserves All-Conference in my opinion,” Richardson said. “Saige and Addi definitely deserved it; they worked hard all season.”

Addison Holcomb also received All-State Honors. 

“Addi was a very good addition to our team, and I think she filled a big spot that needed filled,” Kidd said. “[She] came in at the perfect time and was a great contributor to our success as a team. Her skills are great and her attitude is outstanding as well.”

All in all, achieving third at state is a good accomplishment and a nice way to finish the season. 

“I think that we ended off on a good note,” Holcomb said. “Playing the way I knew we could.”