The Lady Braves volleyball team had a pair of five-set thrillers on their schedule last week where they unfortunately came out on the short end of those contests in a pair of losses.

Last Wednesday, the ladies fell to Preston and then came up short against Evanston the following night. It represented the 14th and 15th straight road matches for Star Valley who will finally get a chance to play at home this week.

“Those were two very close games,” replied head coach Kalin Schwab. “I would never blame fatigue but we are defiantly looking forward to playing at home. Preston played really well, they have some really good hitters and played really good defense. Both teams responded back and forth the entire time. It also started pretty late and it was just a battle. Our girls were resilient and fought back.”

The next night was a similar experience.

“We loaded that bus and went to bed and then we were back on it headed to Evanston and that’s always a really fun atmosphere to play in,” Schwab added. “They have a rowdy student section and makes for a fun environment. I think they had some things they wanted to prove. They have a foreign exchange left-handed hitter and she came out and surprised us a bit. But we responded and after we dropped the first two sets we took the next two sets. I don’t know that I’ve ever  been to a match in Evanston where it wasn’t interesting. It’s always a little crazy.”

The home slate for the Lady Braves is a short one this season with just four opportunities to play in front of their own fans. But two of those chances come this week as Star Valley hosts Jackson on Thursday and Riverton on Saturday. The next two home matches will take place on October 1 against Preston (Pink Night) and then against Evanston on October 23.

Schwab said the team is anxious to play the Lady Broncs on their home court.

“I think it will be exciting,” he said. “We need to respect them as an opponent but we need to play smart and use our hitters and can’t overlook them.” Freshman and sophomore matches are scheduled for 4 p.m. with the junior varsity at 5 p.m. and the varsity scheduled for 6 p.m.

After facing the Lady Broncs, the team will have a road contest in Green River on Friday afternoon before returning home to host Riverton on Saturday afternoon.

Schwab had similar thoughts on Riverton.The varsity match for Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

“Their leading scorer is a senior; this is their senior year so they will be fired up,” he added. “I’ve seen that Riverton squad go into the regionals in last place and come out with a state tournament spot so you never know what they can bring.”

Beyond the results, Schwab hopes the community will come out and support the Lady Braves after they have been on the road for so many weeks.

“Two of the four home matches are this week so come out and support the girls, he noted. “They want to play for their fans. It should be a lot of fun.”

RESULTS:

Lost at Preston:

(25-21, 9-25, 25-17, 19-25, 8-15)

Lost at Evanston :

(18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-17)