Lady Huskies split last week of regular season

The Burlington Lady Huskies wrapped up their regular season with a win in Wyoming Indian on Thursday and a loss in Dubois on Saturday. 

Burlington beat Wyoming Indian in four sets: 25-20, 13-25, 25-15 and 25-21. 

“Due to an injury and sickness, our lineup had some substantial changes,” said Coach Erin Bassett. “It was a good game to work through some of the disruption. Madison Aagard filled in for us in the front row for her varsity debut and did a really good job. We can always count on Maddie to give 100% effort. She does a great job blocking and finding space to put the ball in. Kate Preator rotated in and played the back row rotations for our middle blocker. She has developed an awesome serve and is a really good passer. She did an awesome job on Thursday for us as well.” 

The last regular season game was in Dubois, where the Lady Huskies again played their modified lineup. “As a coach, it is a toss-up to decide if you’re glad that you are getting an opportunity to play something a little different right before postseason, so if something happens it isn’t totally new or if it is just stressful - maybe a little of both,” said Bassett. “Regardless, it was good for the team to play a little differently; we had new experiences and a few players really went out of their way to try and make up the difference. 

“Naomi McNiven is a six-rotation player for us, but she moved over to fill in as an outside hitter. She is very versatile and adaptable. It is a big ask to play something new late in the season and she had 19 attacks, four kills, 100% serving, two aces and 19 digs. Maddie Aagard filled in for us again as middle blocker and did a really good job with 16 attacks and four kills. Sarah McNiven played her heart out. She is a competitor and a great teammate. She will always give 100% and is the first to encourage and cheer for her teammates; she had 52 attacks, 16 kills, six digs and one ace. Dalley Bassett also had a great game; she really hustled and gave it her all with 19 attacks, five kills, 100% serving, two aces, two assists and 10 digs. 

“We lost the match in three sets, which was a bummer for the rankings, but it wasn’t a discouraging day for our team. Dubois played a great game and with all the subtle changes on our side, we didn’t come out on top of the scoreboard. It was far from a day wasted and I feel like we walked away a better team,” said Bassett. 

The scores in Dubois were 23-25, 22-25 and 20-25. 

Burlington will head into the Class 1A West Regional in Lander as the second seed from the Northwest. The Huskies will face Encampment on Friday with the game starting at 2:30 p.m.