Lady Huskies earn 2nd at middle school volleyball tournament

Burlington Middle School’s volleyball teams wrapped up their seasons two weekends ago with a couple of jamborees and an A team tournament.

A key piece to the Lady Huskies’ season was their work in the off season. “We had 24 girls who took volleyball this year,” said Coach Lisa Winters. “These girls worked hard during the offseason with many of them participating in AAU teams, attending camps and attending open gyms to improve their volleyball skills. 

“Their hard work paid off and we were able to start the season strong and improve throughout the season. The girls competed well and our focus was on serving and getting pass, set, hits.”

The C team traveled to Shoshoni for a jamboree. While there, they lost to Shoshoni, beat Ten Sleep and beat Greybull. 

The B team hosted a jamboree and beat Greybull, but lost to Shoshoni. 

The A team competed at its conference tournament in Greybull. “We went in the number 1 seed, our only conference loss to Greybull early in the season,” said Winters. “We struggled to play our game in the first round against Riverside, but ultimately pulled off the win. This group this year showed some real perseverance in several games, coming back from many points behind but still pulling off the win. It’s a great skill to have, but it was rough on my heart rate.” 

In the second round, the Lady Huskies played Greybull. “The girls were ready for this game and came with lots of energy,” said Winters. “We were able to secure the win with some great serving and aiming for specific spots on our tips and hits. Finally, we took on Shoshoni in the championship game. We lost the first set, due to some missed serves and I think some nerves of being in the championship game. The second set we dominated. Shoshoni struggled to serve-receive against us. In the third set, we made some errors and Shoshoni was hitting against us quicker than we were used to, which caused us to miss a few digs. Ultimately, we lost and took second place in the tournament. 

“I’m proud of everything these girls accomplished this season! We have a pretty young team with five eighth graders, 11 seventh graders and eight sixth graders. I will miss having our eighth graders next year. Lily Bullinger was always great at seeing what needed to be done and doing it. She was quick to shag balls and do what the coaches asked. She really focused on her serve this season and made some big improvements. Addison Owen always gives her all. She has a good work ethic. She was a great passer for us this  year, and I could count on her to serve-receive or to pick up tips from the other team. Claire Philpott was one of our most consistent servers this year, something she struggled with last year, but really worked hard to improve. Her hard work paid off. She also took the role of setter this year and really worked to set the ball to all our hitters. She also helped us stay positive during games. Kortney Winterholler has worked hard to be strong in all her volleyball skills. She played a couple of different positions for us this year, but ultimately we needed her as a setter. She excelled at encouraging everyone to work their hardest. Laurne Gotfredson did a great job of communicating on the court and practicing how she played. She worked hard in practice and reminded the younger players to do the same. She did a great job for us as a middle hitter/blocker. Getting several good clocks and often getting kills on her hits and tips.” 

Joining Coach Winters was Stephanie Winters coaching the B team and Jenna Neves coaching the C team.