What appeared to be a dismal start by the Powell Panthers at the 3A West Regional tournament was overcome with strong play throughout the weekend. Powell overcame an early deficit to host Lander to defeat the Tigers 3-1, then defeated Bridger Valley competitors Lyman and Mountain View to claim the first regional championship since 2014.

POWELL 3, LANDER 1

(16-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-10)

Heading into the first match of the weekend, the Panthers (25-7) came in as the No. 1 seed out of the northwest and took on host Lander (11-20) as the No. 4 seed out of the southwest.

Both teams battled early, until Lander captured momentum midway through the set and opened up a multiple point lead.

Powell eventually called a timeout late in the set, trailing 18-14.

Lander continued to push late, and earned a first set win 25-16.

“Lander came ready to play,” coach Lesli Spencer said.

Powell came out stronger in the second set, holding a 7-4 lead and forcing a Lander timeout.

The Panthers pushed their early lead out to as many as 13-7, before the Tigers crawled back into the set.

A 7-1 run tied the set at 14, and Powell tried to find a way to reclaim the lead and pull away.

Both teams each scored a point before Spencer called a timeout tied at 15.

Lander then claimed the lead, before Powell answered to go ahead 20-19.

Powell continued to maintain the lead up 21-20, and the two teams battled to a 22-all tie.

Lander took the lead and was on the verge of a second set win up 24-22, forcing a Powell timeout.

Spencer said that despite going down to a final point, the Panthers did not panic.

“We practice these hard battle-back points every day at practice,” Spencer said.

A service error by Lander and a block by Kodee Asay and Leah Graham tied the match at 24 and forced a Lander timeout.

Addy Thorington’s push over the net was blocked down onto Lander’s side of the court, and a hit out by Lander gave the Panthers a late victory to avoid a 2-0 deficit.

A tight battle ensued in set three, but Powell had the upper hand early with a 9-5 lead, forcing a Tiger timeout.

Lander rallied back, tying the match at 11.

Despite the rally, Powell reclaimed the lead, and pushed it out to as many as three.

Lander put on a late rally, claiming the lead up 21-20 and forcing a Powell timeout.

Powell used three strong kills in a row from Waycee Harvey to take the lead and forced Lander to take a timeout.

The Panthers got one more out of the timeout, but Lander scored two straight to close the gap at 24-23.

Lander hit the ball out to end the set, and Powell took control up 2-1.

In the fourth set, Powell returned to the strong play it has grown accustomed to this season, claiming an early 10-4 lead and forcing a Lander timeout.

That lead continued to grow until it hit double digits, and the Panthers were able to cruise in the fourth set with a 25-10 win to advance to the semifinal.

“We didn’t play our best game against Lander,” Spencer said. “We played just well enough to win.”

Thorington led with 17 kills, 12 digs and two aces. Stevee Walsh had 22 assists, Saige Kidd had 1.5 blocks while Harvey chipped in 11 kills and 11 digs.

POWELL 3, LYMAN 2

(20-25, 25-10, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11)

In the Friday semifinal, the Panthers matched up with Lyman (26-11), the No. 2 seed out of the southwest that had swept the Lovell Bulldogs in the opening round.

Powell came out and held a multiple point lead early, and maintained it until midway through the set up 16-10 and forcing a Lyman timeout.

The Panthers maintained that lead, before an Eagles push made it a 20-19 match in favor of Lyman.

Powell tied that match at 20, before Lyman scored five straight and claimed the opening set.

In the second set, Powell leaped out to an 8-1 lead and forced an early Eagle timeout.

That early momentum carried on, pushing out to a 12-2 lead which continued to build.

Lyman made a small push to cut it to single digits, but Powell did not allow the Eagles back in the set and finished with a 25-10 win.

In the third set the teams went back to battling point for point, with Lyman claiming the early lead.

That lead pushed out to 13-8 and forced a Powell timeout.

Out of the timeout, Powell cut it down to as few as two, before Lyman used a run to push the lead out to 20-14 and force Powell’s second timeout.

Powell was unable to chip into the lead enough, and Lyman took a 2-1 lead after a 25-17 set win.

With Powell needing a win in the fourth set to stay alive, both teams again exchanged points early.

The Panthers claimed the lead up 11-10, using a strong run from that point to take a 17-12 lead and force a timeout.

Teams exchanged points, but Powell maintained a 21-15 lead before another Eagle timeout.

Powell finished the set with a 25-18 win to force a fifth set.

The first six points were split, but Powell scored seven of the next eight to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

Lyman made a small run late to cut the lead down to three, but Powell scored one to make it 14-10. 

The Eagles got one more before Thorington finished the match with a kill, her 33rd of the match to book Powell a spot at state and avenge a five set loss earlier in the season.

Kidd had 4.5 blocks, Walsh led with 39 assists and tied with Harvey for the team lead in digs with 13.

“We have four of the top 10 blockers in the state. It came through against Lyman,” Spencer said.

Harvey led with two aces while Thorington also contributed four blocks to the Panthers’ 17 as a team. 

POWELL 3, MOUNTAIN VIEW 2

(25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11)

On Saturday, the Panthers were playing for their first regional championship since their last win in 2014, with the southwest top-seeded Mountain View Buffalos (29-7-1) standing between them and the No. 1 seed at state.

Mountain View came out and held a multiple point lead early before a quick Powell rally tied the match midway through the set at 12 after a diving effort by Alexa Richardson.

Powell then claimed the lead and pushed it to 14-12 after a Catelynn Floy block — forcing a Mountain View timeout.

Both teams had small runs until Powell held a 20-17 lead, but the Buffalos rallied to a 21-all score.

Two long hits by the Buffalos gave Powell a 23-21 lead and forced another Mountain View timeout.

After the timeout a Thorington hit deflected out and Powell held a 24-21 lead.

Mountain View scored two straight before a Harvey kill ended the set 25-23.

Both teams went hit for hit, with Mountain View gaining a small advantage midway through the set up 16-12 and forcing a Powell timeout.

The Panthers were unable to find a way to take the lead, and Mountain View pulled away late for a 25-18 win.

Early momentum came for the Buffalos in set three after the second set win, with Mountain View holding an early lead before Powell tied the match 8-8.

Mountain View pushed ahead and reclaimed the advantage, taking a 15-12 lead and forcing a Powell timeout.

The Buffalos continued to lead, pushing ahead for a 25-16 third set win to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set brought more back and forth action, with Mountain View leading early 10-8.

Powell took the lead up 12-11 on a long rally finished off by a Harvey kill — with the Panthers continuing to push and building a small lead.

“She [Harvey] found her groove,” Spencer said. “This weekend I can’t say enough (good things) about all of them.”

Harvey continued to lead on the outside, helping Powell build a 20-16 lead and force a Mountain View timeout.

The Buffalos slightly closed the gap, but Powell pushed ahead for a 25-18 win and forced a decisive fifth set.

Every time a team scored in the fifth set the other team answered until it was tied 7-7.

A block followed by a Harvey ace made it 9-7 and forced a Mountain View timeout.

That lead held before a Thorington kill made it 13-10 and forced a second Buffalos timeout.

Powell pushed it to 14-10, Mountain View scored one more before a Thorington kill gave Powell its first regional title since 2014.

“They were extremely excited,” Spencer said. “More excited to get over the hump of beating Mountain View than to win the actual championship.”

Thorington had 31 kills, 17 digs and two aces, while Harvey had 12 kills, 15 digs and two aces. Floy led with three blocks and Walsh led with 36 assists.

Powell had four players in double figures for digs.

The Panthers were able to find out a formula to slow down Mountain View’s big hitter Kate Walker, who finished with 27 kills but had less than the 30 she had in the first matchup.

“Once we were able to figure out her read when she was tipping, Addy was able to make an adjustment and get those tips,” Spencer said. “We were able to adjust and make her adjust the way she hits. She’s still an amazing hitter but we did a good job on containing her a little better.”

STATE TOURNEY STARTS THURSDAY

The road to the first state championship in a decade begins Thursday at 6 p.m. in Casper, with Powell taking on the east No. 4 seed Torrington (13-20-1) in the final match of the day.

“We haven’t seen Torrington so we will be looking at that a little bit,” Spencer said.

If Powell wins, it will take on the winner of east No. 2 seed Douglas (25-11) and west No. 3 seed Lyman at 6 p.m. on Friday.

If Powell loses, it will drop down to the consolation bracket at 2:30 p.m. on Friday to take on the loser of the other matchup with the highest possible placement of third.

Powell is expected to be among the favorites, alongside Mountain View, Lyman, Buffalo and Douglas.

POWELL 3, LANDER 1

(16-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-10)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Addy Thorington 17, Waycee Harvey 11, Saige Kidd 7, Catelynn Floy 2

Assists — Stevee Walsh 22, Catelynn Floy 7, Alexa Richardson 1, Kodee Asay 1, Addy Thorington 1

Digs — Addy Thorington 12, Waycee Harvey 11, Alexa Richardson 7, Catelynn Floy 7, Stevee Walsh 5, Saige Kidd 2, Kenzie Fields 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 1.5, Addy Thorington 1, Waycee Harvey .5, Catelynn Floy .5, Leah Graham .5

Aces — Addy Thorington 2, Waycee Harvey 1

POWELL 3, LYMAN 2

(20-25, 25-10, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11)

Kills — Addy Thorington 33, Catelynn Floy 8, Waycee Harvey 5, Saige Kidd 5, Kodee Asay 2, Leah Graham 2, Stevee Walsh 1, Alexa Richardson 1

Assists — Stevee Walsh 39, Catelynn Floy 7, Leah Graham 4, Waycee Harvey 1, Kenzie Fields 1, Addy Thorington 1

Digs — Stevee Walsh 13, Waycee Harvey 13, Alexa Richardson 13, Addy Thorington 7, Catelynn Floy 4, Leah Graham 2, Kenzie Fields 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 4.5, Addy Thorington 4 (1), Catelynn Floy 3, Leah Graham 2.5 (1), Waycee Harvey 1.5 (1), Kodee Asay 1, Stevee Walsh .5

Aces — Waycee Harvey 2, Saige Kidd 1, Addy Thorington 1

POWELL 3, MOUNTAIN VIEW 2

(25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11)

Kills — Addy Thorington 31, Waycee Harvey 12, Catelynn Floy 6, Saige Kidd 5, Leah Graham 1

Assists — Stevee Walsh 36, Catelynn Floy 11, Saige Kidd 2, Kodee Asay 1, Leah Graham 1

Digs — Addy Thorington 17, Waycee Harvey 15, Stevee Walsh 14, Alexa Richardson 13, Catelynn Floy 7, Saige Kidd 1, Kodee Asay 1, Kenzie Fields 1, Leah Graham 1

Blocks — Catelynn Floy 3 (1), Leah Graham 2, Saige Kidd 1.5, Addy Thorington 1.5 (1), Waycee Harvey 1

Aces — Waycee Harvey 2, Addy Thorington 2, Stevee Walsh 1, Kenzie Fields 1

STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

THURSDAY

Game 1: No. 1E Buffalo vs. No. 4W Worland at 1 p.m.

Game 2: No. 2W Mountain View vs. No. 3E Wheatland at 2:30 p.m.

Game 3: No. 2E Douglas vs. No. 3W Lyman at 4:30 p.m.

Game 4: No. 1W Powell vs. No. 4E Torrington at 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

Game 5: Loser game 1 vs. Loser game 2 at 1 p.m.

Game 6: Loser game 3 vs. Loser game 4 at 2:30 p.m.

Game 7: Winner game 1 vs. Winner game 2 at 4:30 p.m.

Game 8: Winner game 3 vs. Winner game 4 at 6 p.m.

SATURDAY 

Game 9: Winner game 5 vs. Loser game 8 at 9 a.m.

Game 10: Winner game 6 vs. Loser game 9 at 10:30 a.m.

Game 11 (Third place game): Winner game 9 vs. Winner game 10 at 2:30 p.m.

Game 12 (Championship game): Winner game 7 vs. Winner game 8 at 4:30 p.m.