Championship defense

WORLAND - The Worland Lady Warriors volleyball team finished third at the regional tournament in Rawlins Saturday by defeating the Buffalo Lady Bison 3-1, 26-24, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15, during the third-place match. The defending 3A champions now prepare for their final matches of the season and open the state tournament against the Riverton Lady Wolverines.

"Day one compared to day two was a complete 180. They finished extremely well and our win over Buffalo was huge because it gave us the three-seed and we won't have to play Star Valley in our first match at state," said WHS coach Brittany Miller.

"We watched a motivational video before heading to gym," said coach Miller when asked what led to the team's reversal. "They all realized they needed to play to win, play hard and hit hard. They also brought enthusiasm back to the court and were having fun playing volleyball. This change is what I truly believe led to our turnaround and close out the tournament strong."

The video coach Miller had her team watch was from assistant coach Katherine Stuckey's cousin-in-law, Wes Bandemer, who broke his neck in a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed as a result. In the video he spoke about working hard, playing hard and dreaming bigger. One of his goals is to one day walk again, so he stays in top physical shape so that when new research comes out he'll be ready.

Saturday before their regional third-place match with Buffalo, Worland faced Torrington in win or go home match. The pressure of the match never fazed the Lady Warriors as they handily defeated the Lady Trailblazers 3-0, 25-14, 25-8, 25-12.

"Experience is going to help and we have a few girls who this will be their third year at state and having experience at the state tournament level is always a plus. With our experience and enthusiasm it will give us a boost," said Miller.

Looking at the state tournament bracket Worland is on the same side as Douglas, who has had their number this season, but the Lady Warriors will not be looking ahead. Their first opponent, Riverton, a team they beat during a preseason tournament on Aug. 26 2-0, 21-11, 21-16, will be a tough challenge, yet one the Lady Warriors are ready for. The team they beat earlier in the season is not the same team they're going to face Thursday.

"Watching film on them we know their freshman middle has improved a lot since we've seen them. We know who their hitters are that we need to stop. So for us it's about shutting those hitters down, hitting hard and pounding for kills on our side," said coach Miller.

Worland's match vs. Riverton will be Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the Casper Events Center on court 3A.