A more fitting inauguration for the newly remodeled Riverton High School gym couldn’t be imagined. The rival Lander Lady Tigers traveled across the valley to face the Lady Wolverines in an interclass match on the bright new hardwood of Wolverine Gym.
Lander emerged the winner in a five-set donnybrook decided by a 15-11 score in the fifth game.
Lander jumped to a 2-0 lead, 25-19 and 25-22, behind dominant play at the net.
The Lady Tigers are an experienced team with four seniors. It was these four seniors who made the difference against a young Lady Wolverine team.
Defending Class 3-A state high jump champion Paisley Hollingshead used her 6-1 height to block, deflect and alter Riverton plays at the net. She wasn’t alone. Fellow seniors Daisy Goklish and Makenzie Fixter deployed Lander head coach Shannon Waggoner’s defensive scheme, repeatedly double-blocking Riverton attempts at the net.
While the big three were dominating at the net, senior Riley Spies was deadly accurate from the serving line. Spies also played well at the net in tandem with the other three Lady Tiger seniors.
“We’ve been talking all season about a team effort,” Waggoner said.
Lander led 5-0 in the opening game before Riverton sophomore Lawson Yeates found an opening in the Lady Tiger defense to hammer home a spike.
With Lander leading 12-7, Spies and Hollingshead blocked three straight Riverton hits before finally scoring a point.
Offensively, Goklish and Hollingshead hammered the ball. Hollingshead, using the same vertical leap that cleared 5-6.25 in the high jump last season, effortlessly played above the net.
Goklish had a different approach. The talented middle-distance runner used a long-striding approach to the net, with her final steps reminiscent of Fred Flintstone’s tiny steps when bowling, before flying toward the net with a hammering swing.
It was intimidating at times for the Lady Wolverines.
Riverton found holes in the Lander defense by starting to dink the ball to open spots on the floor over the double-block.
Riverton freshman Kinley Linck had a great game in both the back row and the front court. She and Yeates led the Riverton effort on both sides of the net.
There was a long break in action during the second game with officials conferring with the scoring table. The new Riverton scoreboard showed Lander holding an 18-17 lead, but it wasn’t correct. After a long conference, the score was switched to 18-17 in Riverton’s favor.
It didn’t matter in the end. Lander outscored Riverton eight to four the rest of the way to win game two, 25-22.
With fans expecting an early exit with a three-game Lander win, the momentum changed.
Volleyball is a game of momentum. It shifted to the Lady Wolverines after a Yeates spike that doubled Riverton’s lead to 8-4.
Riverton senior Tailyn Shaffer served five straight points later in the game and Riverton built a 19-13 lead. Lander continued to block well at the net, but the ball flew out of bounds several times for Riverton points.
The Lady Wolverines took game three 25-19.
In game four, Yeates and Linck played well at the net with opportunistic spikes into open spots on the floor. For Lander, the offense came primarily from Goklish, scoring off her multi-step approach.
Riverton pulled ahead for a 25-17 win, sending the game to volleyball’s version of overtime, a fifth game.
A fifth game is played to 15 points, rather than 25.
Lander built a quick lead on blocks from Fixter, Goklish and Hollingshead. Riverton battled back and took a brief 5-4 lead on a Yeates spike.
The game was tied five times.
“It was a little stressful,” Waggoner said.
The Riverton and Lander student bodies were loud, boisterous and into the game. The Lander section had a dozen or so pool noodles and began whacking them to make noise. An official stopped the game and warned the students to stop.
The Tiger fans went right back to it, and this time the official stopped the game and instructed security to escort a couple of boys out of the gym.
The game resumed, and Lander edged into the lead. Hollingshead used a rare dink instead of a hard swing, dropping the ball over the Riverton defense for a 9-7 Lady Tiger lead, and Lander steadily pulled away.
Spies was deadly at the serving line, serving four straight points before Fixter scored the match winner on a spike.