PHS avenges losses to Star Valley, goes 1-2 at state

The Powell Panthers began and ended the state volleyball tournament with disappointing losses, but in between, there was pure ecstasy.

After falling to Worland in the opening round, the Panthers battled to an exhilarating sweep of Star Valley in a loser-out game. In the consolation semifinals, though, the Panthers took a rollercoaster ride with Douglas before a heartbreaking five-set loss ended their season. 

While the Panthers failed to bring home a trophy, head coach Morgan Kistler had nothing but praise for her team.

“I was very pleased with their performance,” Kistler said. “They played their hearts out and gave it their best, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Panthers had set their sights on Worland, the No. 2 seed from the East Region, after losing to the Warriors during Powell’s Homecoming week, and in the first set, they gave the Warriors all they could handle. The teams battled through 14 ties and 11 lead changes, and the largest lead by either team was just three points.

With the score tied at 20, a Worland tip evaded the Panthers’ front line to put the Warriors ahead, but Breanna Donarski’s kill, assisted by Richelle Phister, tied it again. Worland again took the lead but committed a net violation on the following play, allowing Powell to take a 23-22 lead on a kill by Emily Herman. Worland came back, though, scoring three straight points to win the set.

The Panthers started fast in the second set, taking a 9-2 lead, but the Warriors responded with seven unanswered points to tie the score. Powell scored two when Jordan Walsh assisted Dani Asay’s kill, followed by a block by Donarski and Asay.

Then the Panthers turned cold. Worland’s Shania McGarvin served 11 straight points and the Warriors coasted to a 25-12 win.

The Panthers returned for set three. Worland took a 12-6 lead before the Panthers stiffened. A block by Herman and Anissa Warner followed by an ace by Asay keyed a seven-point streak, and the Panthers took a one-point lead. Worland responded and the teams battled to a tie at 23 all. Asay scored with a tip, and kills by Nikkole Schneider and Donarski, both off assists by Phister, gave the Panthers a 26-24 win to extend the match.

In the deciding set, Powell took a 4-3 lead and held it until the Warriors battled back to take a 14-13 lead and went on to clinch the match 25-19.

“We had practiced for that first game and we were prepared to beat Worland,” Kistler said, “but it just didn’t happen.”

Worland advanced to beat Buffalo and Mountain View and earn the championship.

An upset by Buffalo gave the Panthers an opportunity they really wanted, a chance to beat Star Valley, and it spurred the Panthers to their best effort of the tournament.

The Braves slowly built a four-point lead before Powell tied the match at 10 with a kill by Donarski. Warner took advantage of her height to contribute four straight points and give the Panthers a 20-15 lead and Powell took the first set 25-20.

The Panthers’ play was marked by an aggressive attack and determined defense as they opened a seven-point lead in set two. Libero Tayli Stenerson dug several hard hits, and once went to the floor to pick up a bad pass and send it over the net. But the Star Valley girls matched Powell’s effort, and tied the set at 22-22. Warner earned a sideout with a block and then had two straight kills to win the set 25-22.

Set three featured 13 ties and no lead grew larger than two points until late. Donarski set Warner for a kill to put Powell up 22-21. Herman and Warner blocked Star Valley for the final two points to complete the Panthers’ sweep with another 25-22 win.

Kistler said the win was especially satisfying for the Panthers, who had lost to the Braves twice in the regular season.

“Not only did we reach our goal (of beating Star Valley), we did it in three games,” Kistler said. “In that game, we definitely showed what our team is made of.”

Saturday’s loser-out match pitted the Panthers against Douglas, and the Bearcats took advantage of a slow Panther start to roll to an easy win in the first set. Douglas scored five unanswered points early to lead 8-4, and a few serves later scored another string of five scores to lead 16-7. From that point, they outscored Powell 9-3 and finished a 25-10 win.

Powell stepped up in the next set, staying with the Bearcats and eventually taking a 20-14 lead. Douglas outscored the Panthers 8-5 from then on, but were unable to complete the comeback, and Powell took a 25-22 win.

Douglas retook the match lead with a 25-18 win in set three.

The Panthers returned in set four, taking and holding a small lead until late. An ace by Herman brought the Panthers to set point, and a Douglas hitting error gave the Panthers a 25-20 win.

Powell jumped to a 5-2 lead in the fifth, but Douglas tied the game at 7-7 and again at 11-11. Douglas took the lead and won 15-12 to eliminate the Panthers.

Kistler said the emotion of the win against Star Valley may have affected the Panthers early in the match.

“It’s hard to come back after a hard, intensive match like the one with Star Valley,” she said. “But they played their hearts out. They finished with their best; they played hard and they kept their heads up. They gave 100 percent, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The match ended the careers of six Panther seniors, and Kistler praised Donarski, Warner, Phister, Schneider, Herman and Kinsey Ashby for their contributions to the team.

“As a first-year coach, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of seniors,” she said. “Each of them brought something different to the team, but they put it together and it worked for the team. They showed a lot of character and excellent leadership.”

Looking down the road, Kistler said the future looks good for Panther volleyball.

“It’s hard to see those seniors go,” she said, “but we have good players coming up next year. Some of them got some experience at state this week, and once you get a taste of that, you want to get back to it next year.”

Seniors Donarski and Warner were named to the Class 3A All-West Conference team.