{gallery}11_02_10/volleyball{/gallery}Senior Olivia Rogers goes for a kill in the first set of the Powell Lady Panthers' opening round match with Rawlins in the state tournament. Powell won the first two sets but Rawlins came back to take the match 3-2 and send the Lady Panthers into the consolation rounds. Tribune photo by Don Amend In a disappointing end to the volleyball season, the Powell Lady Panthers suffered two losses and were eliminated early from the Wyoming State 3A tournament.The Powell girls started out strong, taking the first two sets from Rawlins in the opening round, 25-20, 25-23, but the Lady Outlaws came back to take the next two 25-18, 25-20. In the final set, the team traded points early, but midway through the match, Rawlins put together a run on their way to a 15-9 win.

“Rawlins started hitting the ball better,” said Coach Cindi Smith, “and we broke down defensively and couldn't get an aggressive attack going.”

The Lady Panthers' struggles allowed Rawlins opportunities to mount their own strong attack, leading them to the win.

Olivia Rogers made 14 kills in the match and Randi Asay contributed 13. Becky Dent added eight more. Setter Kadi Cooley led in assists. Both Rogers and Hannah Groves were perfect from the service line, Groves on 19 serves and Rogers on 18. Defensively, Groves made 14 digs and Rogers 12. Rogers also had a solo block and five assists, and Corianne McKearney had seven assists.

The loss put the Lady Panthers up against Torrington, and the Lady Panthers started slowly before battling back to make the score close. The Lady Trailblazers scored the last point, though for a 26-24 win and a 1-0 match lead.

Powell came back in game two and played well, evening the match with a 25-18 win, but they were unable follow up, and Torrington took the next two games 25-19, 25-16 and end the Lady Panthers' season.

Rogers finished the match with 21 kills. Asay was also in double figures with 10 and Liz Tilley finished with eight.

Kendra Ostrom was perfect on 14 serves, Groves was perfect on 12 and Asay on eight. Defensively, Rogers made three solo blocks and two assists, and McKearney made four assists. Rogers and Groves also led in digs, Groves with nine and Rogers with six.

“We could never get into the flow of our game,” Smith said of the two losses. “Things just didn't connect for us, but it wasn't because the girls weren't trying hard.”

Smith said the team knew going into the tournament that the championship would go to “whoever put it together,” and the team that did it last week was Cody. The Fillies defeated Rawlins in five sets in the semifinals and swept Glenrock in three games for the trophy.

“Cody had a great tournament,” Smith said.

Douglas finished third by defeating Lander, which had eliminated Rawlins in the consolations rounds

While disappointing, the Lady Panthers' loss shouldn't overshadow what was a good season for the Lady Panthers, Smith said.

“We were 24-11-3 for the season, so the girls saw some success,” Smith said. “More important, they worked well as a team and helped each other out. They were a great team.”