Volleyball is a game of momentum, if you don’t believe that, just ask the Shoshoni girls after a whirlwind tournament in Lander over the weekend.
The Lady Wranglers secured third place in the Class 2-A West Regional tournament, the only fourth-place seed getting their ticket punched to the “Big Dance” at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper next week.
Shoshoni jumped all over Southwest 2-A regular season champion Kemmerer in opening round action Friday morning on the big floor at Bob Carey Memorial Fieldhouse with back-to-back 25-15 and 25-18 wins over the Lady Rangers.
But in volleyball, it’s the first team to three wins that wins a match and Kemmerer roared back with 25-16, 25-12 wins in games three and four to send the match to a 15-point tie breaker. The Lady Rangers won the fifth game 15-12.
That sent Shoshoni to a loser out tilt with Wyoming Indian at 6 p.m. in Lander Valley High School’s auxiliary gym. The Lady Wranglers swept the Lady Chiefs 25-20, 25-19 and 25-12 to advance to Saturday morning’s qualifier against Northwest Conference champion Greybull.
The Chiefs lost in the opener to eventual champion Rocky Mountain 25-14, 25-9, 25-8 and were eliminated by Shoshoni.
Lady Chiefs in Regional Action – h/t Randy Tucker
Greybull opened with a quick 25-19,25-15, 25-9 win over Wind River then fell to Thermopolis in close sets 28-26, 25-21 and 25-17.
The Lady Buffs looked to be on a roll, taking games one and two 25-17, 25-19 over Shoshoni. The Lady Wranglers recovered in the third with a 25-21 win and sent the match to a tie breaker with a 25-20 win in the fourth.
The final 15-point game was a nail biter. With a state tournament berth on the line, the game went to volleyball’s version of “extra innings” before Shoshoni emerged with a 17-15 win.
Shoshoni in Regional Tournament Action – h/t Randy Tucker 
In the third place match they rolled over Big Piney 25-10 in the opening game, outlasted the Lady Punchers 28-26 in the second game and took the third place seed at state with a 25-19 win in the third.
Wind River was eliminated on Friday by Big Piney 25-23, 25-16 and 25-13.
Lady Cougars in Regional Action – h/t Randy Tucker
The Lady Wranglers open state tournament play on Thursday in Casper against second-seeded Tongue River at 2:30 p.m.
Class 1-A
In other action at Lander, the Lady Rams of Dubois fell just a point short of state qualification in a five-game marathon with Encampment.
Dubois dropped their opening match to Cokeville in three straight 25-21, 25-20 and 25-18, but handled Saratoga in four games after dropping the first one 26-24. They swept the next three 25-22, 25-19 and 26-24.
Against Encampment the Lady Rams split the first two, winning game one 25-22 but dropping game two 25-23. They lost the third 25-17 but won game four 25-18. That set up a tight extra period with the Lady Tigers taking the match 16-14.
Class 3-A
In Class 3-A action at Powell, the Lander Lady Tigers were swept by Pinedale 25-12, 25-22, 25-21 to move into the elimination bracket. In their second match they fell to Lovell in four games. Losing the first pair 25-20, 25-15 before winning game three 25-19. They were eliminated 25-23 in the fourth game.
Class 4-A
Riverton, playing a long way from home in Evanston, made a quick exit from the tournament with back-to-back losses.
The Lady Wolverines were dominated by Kelly Walsh 25-11, 25-18, 25-9 in their noon opener on Friday then fell in four games to Natrona County on Saturday morning at 9 p.m.
Riverton won the first set against the Fillies 25-21, but dropped the next three 25-17, 25-13 and 25-14.