Rebels go 1-2 at State, put 5 on all-conference

The Riverside Lady Rebels made their way to Casper Thursday, November 7 for the 1A state tournament.

Their first match-up was Thursday evening at 6 p.m. against the Southeast Cyclones.

They fought hard against the No. 1 seeded team in 1A East, going to 5 sets.  The first set, the Rebels lost 22-25. They lost the second set 20-25, won the third and fourth sets 25-18, and 27-25, and lost the fifth set 14-16.  

They went on to play Lingle-Fort Laramie the following day at 2:30 p.m.  They were able to gain a win in five sets: 16-25, 28-26, 25-21, 20-25, and 15-9.  They played aggressively and were mentally focused.  

Winning the match against Lingle-Fort Laramie put them into the bracket for Saturday game play against Upton, where the Rebels came up short. They played four sets with the final scores being 13-25, 26-24, 20-25, and 19-25.   

That was to be their last game of the season, a bittersweet moment for the girls as they’ll be losing their seniors Vinaya VanderPloeg and Josie Long after this year.

All conference honors were awarded to Vinya VenderPloeg, Brooklynn Paxton, Varissa Olsen, Johnna Clifford and Kennedy Bassett. VanderPloeg and Paxton were also awarded all state honors.