If you’re a fan of small school volleyball you won’t have to travel far this weekend as Lander hosts the West 1-A and 2-A tournaments at the Bob Carey Memorial Fieldhouse and in their adjacent Auxiliary Gym.
Fremont County rivals Shoshoni and Wyoming Indian highlight the opening session with a 10 a.m. match in the Auxiliary Gym. Shoshoni is the second seed from the Northwest 2-A and Wyoming Indian, the third seed from the Southwest are on the same side of the bracket as fourth-seeded Wind River, another north team.
All three teams will play again in either semi-final action or in elimination contests.
The top-seeded teams get to play on the main floor while the second/third opening round games in both 1-A and 2-A play in the smaller Auxiliary Gym.
Dubois has an uphill battle facing perennial power Cokeville in an opening round match on the main floor at 2:30 p.m.
The Lady Rams advanced after playing a pigtail game Monday afternoon against the fifth-place team from the Southwest 1-A, the Eden-Farson Pronghorns. Dubois rolled through the match in three quick games, winning 25-14, 25-11, and 25-9 to advance.
The other pigtail contest saw Encampment eliminate Ten Sleep in three games as well, 25-5, 25-5, and 25-12.
In Class 1-A, with 10 teams in the region, the fourth and fifth-place teams cross over to play a qualifying or “pigtail” single-elimination game on Monday to finalize an eight-team bracket.
Dubois enters the Cokeville game 7-7 on the season. The Lady Panthers are 20-13 overall, but unbeaten against Wyoming Class 1-A or 2-A teams. They also sport several wins over Wyoming 3-A and 4-A schools.
Win or lose, the Lady Rams will play again at 9 p.m. in semi-final action or in loser-out tilts.
The Southwest 2-A had only three teams after St. Stephen’s canceled their season.
The Lady Chiefs are 8-17 overall, and winless in conference play. Wyoming Indian is looking for their first Class 2-A win of the season.
Shoshoni enters the tournament 14-14 overall with a record of 8-3 against Western 2-A teams. They’ve beaten both top seeds, Rocky Mountain, and Kemmerer during the year.
With the absence of a fourth team from the Southwest, Rocky Mountain has an opening-round bye.
Wind River has an interesting draw. They’re the fourth seed from the Northwest with a 7-19-1 record, and face Southwest champion Kemmerer, but they beat the Rangers and tied them during the regular season.
A win advances the Lady Cougars to a 6 p.m. semi-final while a loss sends them to the little gym in the consolation bracket.
Winners in the late games Friday advance to the championship matches or have a state-qualifying game with the winners of the consolation bracket in the morning.