Lady Cats wrap up at regionals

The weekend in Buffalo at the High School Regional Volleyball Tournament did not go as planned for Thermopolis’ Lady Cats, but they played hard through both days and held their heads high with confidence.

“This weekend was quite heartbreaking for our team,” said head coach Shannon Hill. “We did everything right, we showed up to play and we played hard and well. We just fell short.”

The girls started things off against Torrington’s Lady Trailblazers, topping them in five games. They were super focused and played one point at a time, and eliminated runs, exactly what they had practiced all week.

Scores against Torrington were 25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 25-17 and 15-19.

“We played super focused and really well as a team during this match,” Hill said. “The girls stayed calm and focused on one point at a time. We let it slip a little in games two and three, but regained our momentum for games four and five.”

Ashley McPhie had 22 kills and 28 digs against the Lady Trailblazers while Sesi Jensen added 10 kills and 23 digs to her stats. Dani Jo Pebbles made 37 assists, 22 digs and two aces, and Reagan Severance whipped up three blocks.

The Douglas Lady Bearcats where next on the schedule and Hill said, “Although game three’s score doesn’t reflect this, our girls played Douglas the best I’ve ever seen them play Douglas.

“They stopped them going on runs and focused on keeping our serve, especially when Douglas’ tall middle was in the back row. I was so proud of the girls for showing up to play Douglas during this match and proving that we can make teams like Douglas nervous.”

Scores against Douglas were 17-25, 22-25 and 10-25.

Jensen had another good game with eight kills and four blocks against the Lady Bearcats. The DeVries girls helped out, too with Brianna having two aces and Kaylee dropping for 17 digs.

Hill said their next match against the Buffalo Lady Bison was heartbreaking because the scores were so close in every game.

“We were right there with them and leading a lot during the games, we just couldn’t pull ahead at the right time.”

Scores in the Buffalo match were 22-25, 21-25, 25-22 and 17-25.

McPhie managed 19 kills and 20 digs against the Lady Buffs and Jensen had 10 kills, four aces and 24 digs. Brianna DeVries added another 21 digs to her stats.

“I cannot express my gratitude and pride for this team and the work they’ve done this season,” Hill said. “I am in awe of the camaraderie and perseverance this team has showed this year.

“The senior leadership we had this year was amazing and the juniors who supported them on Varsity was exactly what this program needed. We made huge strides, not only skill-wise, but growing our confidence to a point where we know we will compete in 3A and we re Thermopolis, and we show up to play.

“Again, I am so proud of the work everyone, from freshmen all the way to the seniors, put into this season and the legacy that our seniors have left on this program.”