Lady Rebels win 5 of 6 at 1A jamboree

The Riverside Lady Rebels made a statement at a 1A jamboree last weekend in Encampment and Saratoga, winning five of six matches against opponents that they could face down the road at their regional and state tournaments.

“It was a great opportunity to see teams from the other side of the state,” said Coach Cindi Smith, adding “We were able to see strengths we bring to the court and areas we want to continue to improve in.”

Riverside’s only loss of the weekend was to top-ranked Little Snake River, 25-27, 15-25.  They triumphed over their other opponents, beating Hulett (25-7, 25-14) from the 1A Northeast, Saratoga (25-19, 25-15) and Farson-Eden (26-24, 25-16) from the 1A Southwest, and Rock River (25-11, 25-13) and Lingle (25-21, 18-25, 15-11) from the 1A Southeast.

Team statistics from the weekend (not counting the Saratoga match, which were unavailable) show the Rebels serving 86% with 43 aces while recording 177 digs, 99 kills and 87 assists.

Johnna Clifford led in serving at 91.7%, followed by Brooklyn Paxton at 89.4%.

Paxton led the way in aces, with 12; kills, with 46, and digs, with 50.  Vinaya VanderPloeg also had 12 aces and ranked second in kills with 36 and digs with 46.  Kennedy Bassett, the setter, was credited with 73 assists.

Team members Josie Long and Brooklyn Paxton believes the team is on a positive course.

“We stuck together and gave it our all despite every challenge,” Long said of the Encampment tournament. “We also did not give up and fought for every point and made some good comebacks.”

From a big-picture standpoint, Paxton said, “We have improved a lot from last year and we have already seen improvement through the first two tournaments we have attended and I’m excited to see us grow even more. 

“It was good for us to see what to expect in 1A and it’s going to help us see what we need to improve on and what we should expect when we get to state”

In the short term, Smith said she wants to see her team “continue to work hard” and must “be more consistent with our serve while staying aggressive.”

Riverside will compete in this weekend’s Western Wyoming Volleyball Challenge, with matches in Thermopolis on Friday and in Greybull on Saturday. On Friday, they face Encampment at 2 p.m. and the host Bobcats at 4 p.m.  Saturday’s slate includes an 8 a.m. match versus Farson-Eden and a 2 p.m. showdown with Rocky Mountain.