Lady Huskies take 2nd at Regionals and headed to State

Regional volleyball took place this past weekend and the Lady Huskies played in Lander, taking second place overall and qualifying for State. “This weekend was a busy one but successful,” said Coach Natoshia Heaton. “I believe all of the team, me included, learned a lot from this past weekend’s play.”

Burlington took charge in the Arapaho Charter game, winning in an easy three games. Meeteetse was up next and did cause a few hiccups, but the Lady Huskies won in four games, which led them to the Championship game against Cokeville. “The first game was nothing more than serving. Our second game was a bit more challenging, and we even fell one set to Meeteetse. The three sets we won were quite easy. None of our region games nor most of our regular season games prepared us for matches like Cokeville. 

All the sets were close, some closer than they should have been. We struggled finishing in the first set. I think all of us felt like we had set one and Cokeville never lost their drive. This was obvious when they ended up winning the set. I was worried that the girls might fall apart but they kept fighting. I was proud that they kept preserving. I wish the outcome would have been different, but the mindset was there. 

We have had a few matches where we fall apart easily and knowing that mind block, we traditionally have with Cokeville, I was worried we would succumb to this and play subpar at best. This did not happen. Though it wasn’t our best game and some players struggled, overall, their performance was positive. If my information is correct, we haven’t played in the district finals since 2012, that’s significant. Cokeville on the other hand is used to playing in high stakes matches. This showed. Individually our team is way more talented than Cokeville’s team but winning is more than talent. We have some work to do in the gym. However, I fully believe that these girls are capable of conquering whatever team stands in their way of the State Championship.” 

Coach Heaton is correct that the Lady Huskies haven’t played in a regional championship game since 2012, when they ironically took 2nd place to Cokeville. “Many of us were disappointed that we lost to Cokeville, but the redeeming grace is that it isn’t the end. And hopefully we can take this loss as determination to work harder and conquer this coming weekend,” said Heaton. 

The Lady Huskies head to the State Volleyball Championship as the 2nd seed from the Northwest and will play Midwest at 4:30 on Thursday at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper. 

BURLINGTON 3, ARAPAHO CHARTER 0 = 25-6, 25-6, 25-5

BURLINGTON 3, MEETEETSE 1 = 25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 25-9

BURLINGTON 1, COKEVILLE 3 = 23-25, 23-25, 25-17, 23-25