Netters suffer stage fright at tourney

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
For the first time in seven years, the Lady Dogies won their way into the 3A Wyoming State Volleyball Championships, which took place last weekend in Casper. Unfortunately they, along with their 3A East counterparts, ran into the juggernaut that is the west side this season.
“I honestly think that the east just didn’t show up to play,” said head coach Keeley Anderson. “The Buffalo coach said that was the worst they had played all year, and I know that our girls were just not themselves either.” 
As a young team with no previous experience playing at the state tournament, the venue in the Wyoming Ford Center in Casper is a large stage with a lot going on. All four classes are competing at the same time, so all the fans are cheering, whistles are blowing, the surface of the court is far different than anything teams have played on throughout the season, and as far as depth perception goes, there is nothing comparable in any gym. It all definitely takes some adjusting. 
The Lady Dogies may have had a bit of stage fright as they stepped onto the court to take on the No. 1 Mt. View Buffalo on Thursday evening. The Lady Buffs had enjoyed the ranking of No. 1 in 3A throughout the year, and were the returning 3A state champions to boot, so Newcastle understood they had a challenge waiting for them in their quarterfinal round. 
“I think that some of the girls were nervous, and with the crazy atmosphere, it was a little overwhelming,” Anderson admitted. “That’s not an excuse, though, because they should have shown up to play.” 
According to Anderson, Newcastle only earned 13 points throughout the entire match, which they dropped in three straight sets. 
“We had a bunch of errors which is very uncharacteristic of us,” she said. “They really weren’t hitting at us all that hard, and it was nothing like playing Buffalo. They were giving us pretty easy balls, but our passes were a little off — not getting to the 10 foot line — and then our sets were a little off, so it was just a never-ending cycle. It just didn’t come together.”
Mt. View had their way with the Lady Dogies who were only able to score 14, 12 and 15 points, respectively, in their three sets of the match.
“That game was rough because I’ve never seen that group play that way and they took it hard too, because they knew they didn’t play their best,” Anderson said. “I didn’t think they did anything too crazy, and if we would have played the way we are capable, it could have been a good match.”
Friday, the Lady Dogies played Burns in the loser out game, and once again Newcastle just wasn’t up to their usual level of performance. 
“We did some good things in that game, and we looked a little more like ourselves,” Anderson began. “But, we had taken them to four or five sets all season long and competed with them, but again we just weren’t playing like we are capable.”
For the second match in a row, the Lady Dogies would fall in three straight sets, 21-25, 19-25 and 20-25. 
“Our communication was not there. Anytime coaches stopped talking, it was silent on the court, which is not us at all,” Anderson said. “It was an off weekend, and it wasn’t a great weekend to have that happen.” 
Though the weekend didn’t turn out the way any of the team members were hoping, the Lady Dogies will be returning the core of the team to the court next season. Unfortunately for seniors LaKacee Lipp and Olivia McVay, this was their last opportunity.
“I know that it was pretty heartbreaking for the seniors to go out like that, but for next season it will be great to have all of the others coming in with a vengeance,” Anderson said. “And looking back on the season, we only had three wins last year and this year we had 15. All the games were pretty tight, so they have grown a lot, and will grow over the next year as well.”
“Our goal this year was getting to state [competition] and we achieved that, so next year they will be ready when our goal is set a little bit higher,” she continued. “A ref told me that one of our girls commented that it was so important that we made it this year so that they have that experience under their belts, so I’m excited for next year.”