Lady Huskies earn trip to State

The Burlington Lady Huskies went into the Class 1A West Regional as the top seed from the Northwest Conference after winning a points-scored tiebreaker over Dubois. The Southwest Conference was decided in the same way, with Little Snake allowing fewer points than Cokeville, which set up some great matchups.

Burlington started strong against Farson-Eden and won in three games. “Going into the first game, the girls were feeling confident, but knew that Farson is famous for getting great hustle balls and returning the ball unexpectedly — they knew they were going to have to hustle. The scores tell the story, they quickly put that game to rest,” said Coach Erin Bassett. 

The 25-12, 25-14, 25-12 win moved Burlington up the bracket, where they faced off against Cokeville. They struggled in the first game and lost fairly quickly, but came back and kept the next two close, despite losing both. “We were in a little bit of uncharted territory. This team has never played Cokeville and have never played in a semifinal game. It took them a bit to adjust to the tempo of the game, but every set got better and more competitive; we just didn’t get it done soon enough.” Scores were 14-25, 21-25, 26-28. 

Losing to the Panthers, propelled the Huskies into the losing side of the bracket and a matchup with Saratoga, winning in three games, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20. “Saturday was a new day with renewed determination,” said Bassett. “From the opening whistle, they hammered away at Saratoga. Every girl on the team hustled and worked but Paxton Philpott was a huge presence in that game. She was focused, fierce and deadly from the service line, as a defender and led our team in kills. The win secured our ticket to state, but we only had a few quick hours before we played Dubois for the third place ranking.” 

The Lady Huskies had split their matches with the Rams in the regular season but had momentum on their side and won, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17. “Once again from the opening whistle, our girls were charged up and ready to go. I was very proud of the way they went to work and never backed down. There was no hesitation, no fear and 100% confidence. Every girl played their part and got the job done. Two tough games that close together is a lot of work, physically and mentally taxing. Naomi McNiven led the charge and played very dynamically both in the front and back row. I haven’t seen her swing with that much power and confidence in a long time. Sarah McNiven also put nail after nail in the coffin with very definitive blocking and powerful swings. Overall, our girls played really well this weekend, they went in hungry and with a purpose,” said Bassett. 

Burlington will face Upton, the No. 2 team from the East, on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper.

FARSON-EDEN STATS – Paxton Philpott, 10 kills, 8 digs, 1 block, 1 ace. Naomi McNiven, 6 kills, 10 digs, 1 block, served 100%. Sarah McNiven, 11 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces, served 100%. Adison Haslam, 2 kills, 27 assists, 2 digs, 1 ace, served 100%. Dalley Bassett, 2 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces, served 100%. Eve McNulty, 1 kill, 7 digs, 2 aces, served 100%. Hailee Winterholler, 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 block. Orabella Heaton, 2 digs. Kate Preator, 1 dig. Madison Aagard 1 block.

COKEVILLE STATS– Philpott, 11 kills, 16 digs. N. McNiven, 3 kills, 8 digs. S. McNiven, 9 kills, 1 dig. Bassett, 3 kills, 4 digs, 100% serves. Winterholler, 6 kills, 3 digs, 100% serve. Sophie Olson, 1 kill, 4 digs. Haslam, 29 assists, 2 aces, 6 digs. McNulty, 16 digs, 100% serves. Heaton, 3 digs.

SARATOGA STATS– Philpott, 12 kills, 16 digs, 100% serves, 1 ace. N. McNiven, 10 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace. S. McNiven, 9 kills. Winterholler, 7 kills, 100% serves. Bassett, 6 digs, 2 aces. McNulty, 10 digs, 2 aces. Haslam, 10 digs, 26 assists.

DUBOIS STATS– Philpott, 11 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces. N. McNiven, 9 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces. S. McNiven, 10 kills, 3 solo blocks, 2 assisted blocks. Winterholler, 3 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace. Bassett, 4 digs, 2 aces. Haslam, 5 digs, 29 assists. Heaton, 5 digs. McNulty, 12 digs.