• England and Neuenschwander earn All-Conference
The Star Valley Lady Braves completed a successful season at the Wyoming state volleyball tournament over the weekend. It was a good season with a disappointing ending as the program had aims on advancing in the bracket but were bounced in a pair of losses to eventual champion Kelly Walsh and 4A West champ Green River.
The Trojans dropped just one set in the tournament, a 25-21 third frame to Cody in the championship game. Green River fell in four sets to the Cheyenne Central Indians after playing back to back five-set outings against Star Valley and Thunder Basin. The Lady Braves finished with an overall record of 21-17 and advanced to the state tournament for the 12th consecutive season.
“It was a great season,” said head coach Kalin Schwab. “It went by very fast. The girls felt the same. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed each other. Kelly Walsh, the junior college tournament was in Casper and I think they could have won that. They were built to win the championship. We gave them a fight in the firs test, but they hit their stride and they were genuinely hard to stop. We tried to make them sweat a little bit.”
After falling in the opening round to the eventual champs, the girls had to readjust their expectations. Coach Schwab appealed to their influence on the community.
“It’s hard to bounce back after that,” he noted. “But my talk with the girls was yes, you will not be winning a state championship, but you may inspire the next generation to do so. I think girls in elementary school and middle school who are watching them play and I really do think they will inspire a generation to get it done. I think in the Green River game they showed a lot of fight. That’s what I wanted. We went back and forth. Overall, just a really good effort from the girls. A lot of grit in this group and a lot of love for each other.”
The program will say goodbye to several important seniors. Kaelyn Green, Avery England and Charlee Neuenschwander wrapped their careers for the squad. A number of important returners are expected including Ruby and Kate Gaskell, Macey Schwab, Harlie Hilton, Neveah Rainey, Tayley Campbell and Ruby Morgan.
All-Conference
Avery England and Charlee Neuenschwander were both named all-conference for the 4A West on Tuesday. They were among the team leaders in kills and helped anchor a squad that won more than 20 matches in back to back seasons.
State Volleyball Roundup
In the 1A class, Cokeville made short work of Guernsey-Sunrise in a 3-0 sweep but then needed to gut out a five-set classic over Upton to reach the title game. They met up with the Hulett Red Devils who won in a sweep, 25-23, 25-13, 25-13.
In the 2A class, the Big Horn Rams swept their way to the state title with nine set wins. None of their opponents scored more than 18 in any one set. The Kemmerer Rangers advanced to the semifinals but fell to Southeast and then won to earn a spot in the third place game where they lost in a sweep to Greybull.
The Lovell Bulldogs defeated Tongue River 3-1 in the 3A championship bracket after sweeping both Newcastle and Mountain View.
State Results
Loss vs Kelly Walsh 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-13)
Loss vs Green River 3-0 ) (23-25, 26-24, 14-25, 25-21, 8-15)
