The Powell High School volleyball team squared off against the top two teams in the 3A Northwest quadrant last week, losing in straight sets to Lander Thursday and Worland Friday. Despite the losses, PHS head coach Tasha Miller liked the team’s effort.

“I was very pleased with how the girls played against both teams,” she said. “We have made a lot of progress between the beginning of the season and now and I feel like that shows now that we are up against these teams for a second time.”

“We scored a lot more points towards both teams this time around, so that progress is a win to me,” Miller said.

Against Lander (18-7-3, 4-1 in NW quadrant) on Thursday the Lady Panthers (7-18-12, 1-5 in NW quadrant) got off to a slow start, dropping the first two sets 25-13 and 25-12. Powell found a groove in the third set, briefly taking the lead midway through before Lander came back to seal the win 25-17.

Friday’s match against Worland (22-9, 5-0 in NW quadrant) was a slugfest from the start, though the Warriors proved why they’re the top team in the Northwest Quadrant, winning 25-20, 25-12, 25-22.

For the two games, Powell’s Paije Johnson and Sabrina Shoopman led the way with eight kills apiece, followed by Gabby Harshman, Rose Graft and Gabi Metzler with six each.

“Sabrina Shoopman really stepped up for me. She was in a new position that she hasn’t played since her freshman year of volleyball, and she was awesome,” Miller said. “She’s incredibly fast and can get to off block balls and tips like I’ve never seen before.”

Libero Michele Wagner led the team in digs with 30, followed by Kady Wells with 19. Metzler finished with 18 assists, while Madi Fields added 12. Fields finished with two aces, Graft one.

“Gabi Metzler also had a great couple of games,” Miller said. “She has such a great setter dump and a natural timing to know when to do it. I think she gets a point on about 90 percent of those attacks, and she had a lot of them against Worland.”

The Lady Panthers will host Lovell today (Thursday) in the regular-season finale for both teams. Powell beat the Lady Bulldogs in straight sets late last month for their only conference win, and Miller said she hopes the team can close out the regular season on a positive note. The regional tournament begins Friday, Nov. 1 in Lander.

“We have been able to challenge our last few opponents better than the first time we played them, and I hope to continue to see that progress as we go into the regional tournament,” the coach said. “I really want to get our serving percentage up and serve receive. Those are easy points that we shouldn’t be giving away.”