Husky middle school volleyball wraps up

Middle school volleyball wrapped up for the year and the Burlington Lady Huskies ended with a B team championship and second place in the A team tournament.
“We had an extremely hardworking group of girls this year!” said Coach Lisa Winters. “Many of them attended multiple camps and open gyms during the summer in preparation for the season. They were and are always looking for more opportunities to play volleyball. This year, we had four eighth graders out: Madison Aagard, Rae Chatwin, Sophie Olson and Jamie Taylor. They really were great team leaders and helped encourage and push our new sixth graders. We also had five seventh graders and nine sixth graders. Because of the small groups, many girls had to play at multiple levels, which meant they were often playing against teams that were older, taller and more experienced. All of them stepped up to the challenge!”
The C team ended the season with a 5-3 record, the B team went into the tournament with a 7-5 record and the A team went into the tournament with a 9-3 record.
During tournament play, the A team took on Riverside in the first game and won 2-0. Next up was Greybull. “Greybull had beaten this group of girls last year at tournament, so they were determined not to let it happen again. It took us 3 sets, but we got the win, 2-1,” said Winters. The win sent the Lady Huskies into the championship game against Shoshoni. “During the season, we had lost to Shoshoni both times, but they were close and intense games. We knew we were capable of beating them if we played our best game.” Shoshoni won the first game, Burlington fought back and won the second game but ultimately lost the third game and the Lady Huskies earned second place.
The B team, which consisted of all sixth graders, rose to the occasion and defeated Riverside and Rocky Mountain to get to the championship game. Burlington played a tough Shoshoni team but won 2-1 and earned the championship title. They received an invitation to play in the Yellowstone tournament against the 3A and 4A schools in our area this last Saturday. The Lady Huskies lost to Worland 1-2, beat Thermopolis 2-0 and then lost to Riverton 0-2 to end up in sixth place. “We were the only team with sixth graders there and I thought they did a great job of rising to the occasion,” said Winters.
With middle school basketball starting, the Lady Huskies had to switch to early morning practices for volleyball. “The girls have been so dedicated, attending volleyball and basketball practices while also staying on top of their school work and other responsibilities. I was proud of the girls and all their hard work and dedication, not just during tournaments, but the whole season,” said Winters.