The Lady Braves volleyball team capped a great night of energy and fundraising with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Preston on Wednesday, 25-17, 25-9 and 25-18. 

It was a confidence-building turnaround from just six day ago as the team came up just short in a five-set battle against the Indians last Thursday in Idaho. 

It was the annual Pink Night cancer awareness and fundraiser event with proceeds going to the Jayce Lilly family who was honored prior to the start of the varsity match. 

PA announcer, Josh Frazier, stated that Jayce and his family had planned on being at the event but had to be rushed for medical care due to concerns stemming from his compromised immune system as a result of chemotherapy. 

The crowd roared for the Lilly family despite their absence and tables lined the south entrance hallway with silent auction items and baked goods. 

The Lady Braves left no doubt during the match as the Indians never really settled into the pink surroundings. In particular, the serving of Austyn Bagley and the continued hard hitting of Shaylah Frazier was a rotation Preston struggled to solve. 

The win, Star Valley’s first on their home court this season, should buoy the girls into what promises to be a tough weekend of conference play as #2 Kelly Walsh comes to town for a 6 p.m. varsity start on Friday night followed by an 11 a.m. Saturday match against the Natrona Fillies. The Trojans have been ranked near the top of the Wyopreps.com Coaches and Media Poll all season long, trailing only the Laramie Plainsmen.

The Lady Braves will continue to play in front of the Crimson & Gold faithful for the next two weeks with the Rock Springs Tigers coming to Afton on October 11 and Jackson Hole High School kicking off the back half of conference play in Star Valley on October 18. 

• New Look Conference Alignment

The 2024-25 school year is the first to implement the latest Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) classification alignments which puts both Casper schools into the 4A West conference moving forward for all sports with the exception of football. In the past several years, the two schools had swapped every two years. 

The latest alignment went with straight school enrollment figures rather than the long-held struggle to keep both conferences at even numbers. Therefore, there are 15 4A schools with eight in the west and seven in the east. 

Campbell County, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Laramie, Sheridan and Thunder Basin comprise the 4A East with Evanston, Green River, Jackson, Kelly Walsh, Natrona County, Riverton, Rock Springs and Star Valley making up the 4A West. 

The 4A West Regional Tournament takes place in Evanston this year on November 1-2.