Panthers drop homecoming, win thriller in Buffalo

For the second week in a row, the Powell Panthers absorbed a tough loss on the volleyball court but bounced back to earn a big win.

After falling to Worland in four sets on Thursday, the Panthers fought back from a 2-0 deficit to hand the Buffalo Bison their first loss of the season.

A tough Worland team invaded the Panther gym on Thursday and took charge from the opening set. The Warriors’ front line dominated the net and built a big lead before the Panthers began their comeback try. Powell managed to cut into the lead, but the rally fell short and the Panthers took a 25-18 loss to trail 1-0.

The Panthers stayed with the Warriors until midway through the second set when Worland pulled away. Another Powell rally fell short and Worland won the set, 25-17 and took a 2-0 lead.

The third set belonged to the Panthers, who jumped out to a 9-2 lead and fought off Worland’s attempts to sweep. The Warriors pulled to within three, but the Panthers responded with six unanswered points to take control at 20-11. Worland cut the lead to five at 23-18, before Powell earned a side-out and won the set.

Set four belonged to Worland, though. The Warriors scored in bunches while Powell was unable to score consistently off their serves in the fourth set. Worland built a 12-point lead at 20-8, and extended it to 14 points at match point. Powell fended off four Warrior attempts to clinch the match before giving up a sideout that ended the match with a 25-13 win for the Warriors.

PHS head coach Morgan Kistler said the Panthers made too many mistakes that prevented them from gaining momentum.  

“I think they showed that we could play with Worland,” she said. “In the third game we corrected our mistakes and played our game.”

Kistler noted that there had been many distractions during the week’s Homecoming activities that may have caused the girls to have difficulty focusing on the match.

Saturday’s match seemed to be following the same script for the Panthers when they again lost the first two sets, 25-18, 25-16, but then, something changed. The Panthers decided they were going to win the match, and came together to make it happen.

“It was a complete team effort,” Kistler said of the turnaround. “I think the girls just know what they are capable of, and they began to focus on what they can do.”

The Panthers began to counter the Buffalo attack and mount an attack of their own. Seniors Anissa Warner and Breanna Donarski led the attack as the Panthers began to take control of the net.

“Anissa played really well, and so did Breanna,” Kistler said. “Dani Asay helped with some blocks. We had to do something to stop Buffalo’s front line,” Kistler said. “We were able to do that and take some pressure off our back line.”

With their backs to the wall, the Panthers took the third set 25-20. Buffalo then responded with a determined effort to end the match in the fourth set, but the Panthers were equally determined to even the match. In the end, they squeezed by the Bison 26-24 and sent the match into a deciding fifth set.

Kistler said the Panthers were making fewer errors and passing the ball more effectively during the comeback.

“They were being smart with the ball,” she said.

Buffalo’s early lead in the first-to-15 fifth set seemed to end Powell’s comeback attempt, but with the score at 12-6, Kistler called a time out.

“I told them, ‘Don’t look at the scoreboard. Focus on getting the point,’” Kistler said.

The Panthers took their coach’s words with them when they walked back on the court, because they responded by outscoring Buffalo 9-1 to win the set and complete the comeback, 15-13, handing the Bison their first loss of the season.

Kistler said she was proud of the way the girls stepped up when they were facing defeat, and credited the whole team for its effort.

“Honestly, it would have been easy to give up at that point, but they kept fighting,” Kistler said. “They played with more heart than I’d ever seen them play with before. It was great.”

Saturday, the Panthers will travel south to take on Northwest Division rival Lander. They stand 1-1 in the conference after splitting matches with Cody and Lovell last week, so a win in Lander would be an important step toward a favorable seeding at the Regional Tournament. Game time is 1 p.m. in Lander.