No. 2 Worland back on track

WORLAND – No. 2 Worland looked back to its old self Thursday as the Lady Warriors (12-6, 2-1 3A Northeast) defended home court with a four-game win over No. 1 Buffalo 25-17, 25-18, 17-25 and 25-11.

The win brought Worland to a tie with the Lady Bison (13-5, 2-1 3A NE) at the top of the standings in the quadrant.

The Lady Warriors knew it would take a good performance to knock off top-ranked Buffalo and they delivered one in front of an electric home crowd.

"I think every win is a big win, but it was really important to come out and see us play like we do in practice and have a lot of hitters involved in the match. I was really proud of them," Worland coach Brittany Miller said after the win on Thursday.

Worland started off the match on fire, taking command early and building an 8-2 lead which prompted a Buffalo timeout. But the Lady Warriors built on their lead, extending it to as much as 23-12 in the first game.

The Lady Bison did come with a small run late, cutting the deficit to 24-17. But a service error by Tana Dahlberg gave the Lady Warriors the win in game on 25-17.

In game two, the two sides traded leads throughout.

Neither team would go ahead by more than two points before the other came back to take the lead.

Down 17-16 late in game two, Worland scored back-to-back points to take an 18-17 lead – one they wouldn't lose.

Leading 22-18, seniors Anna Lopez and Bryanna Mickelson closed it out - Lopez forcing game point with two straight aces and Mickelson finishing game two off with a kill for the 25-18 win.

Worland looked to have fixed its mid-match problems as it controlled the potential match-winning game three 14-10.

But after a Buffalo timeout, the Lady Warriors got stuck in a rotation once again as the Lady Bison closed out the game on a 15-3 run to stay alive – forcing a fourth game with a 25-17 win.

"It's not really what they're doing to us (that's making us struggle). We're in full control of it and we just need to stay aggressive and get an immediate side out – whether it's an offensive kill or a defensive stop," Miller said of the small lapse in game three.

But the Lady Warriors flexed their muscles once again in the fourth game, utilizing all of their assets to finish off Buffalo with a convincing 25-11 win.

"They really wanted to win game four and they came out and took it," Miller said of her team's dominant performance in the decisive game.

Worland will have Friday off before hosting another quadrant foe in Newcastle (7-11, 1-1 3A NE) on Saturday – a team they lost to in four games back on Sept. 19 in Newcastle.

"We focused on Buffalo all week so (Friday) we'll regroup and really talk about Newcastle and some things we need to do.," said Miller. "I feel like our offense is improving and we're already a better team than the last time we faced them."

The match between Worland and Newcastle is set to begin around 3 p.m. at Worland High School.