The final week of the regular season started with a difficult trip to Cody on Tuesday night for the Powell Panther volleyball team, as the Panthers were swept by the rival Cody Fillies.

CODY 3, POWELL 0

(25-11, 25-22, 25-12)

Needing a win to make a strong push towards the postseason the Panthers (16-14-1 overall, 2-7 3A West) made the short trip to Cody to take on the rival Fillies (29-2 overall, 9-0 3A West) on Tuesday.

A slow start by the Panthers led to an early timeout, as the Fillies led 8-1.

That slow start continued, as the Fillies made it 16-6 after an ace, and cruised to the first set win 25-11.

In the second set the Panthers didn’t let the Fillies get away early, answering the small runs from the hosts and keeping the set close trailing 11-9 after an Autumn Kidd kill.

Powell eventually took the lead, making it a 16-15 contest after a hit out by the Fillies.

Cody responded with four straight points, making it 19-16 and forcing a Powell timeout after the Panthers hit it into the net.

Powell brought the scoreline even again after the Fillies failed to find a kill, and then claimed the lead 20-19 on a Kaedenze Carter ace.

That lead held to 21-20, before Cody reclaimed the lead 22-21.

Powell tied it on a Hali Hancock block, but the Fillies finished the set with three straight and took the 25-22 win.

“I think we can see the correlation of unforced errors to performance,” coach Anna Flitner said. “In the first set we made a lot of errors which made it tough to go on runs or fight back against a tough Cody team. In the second set, they were also making several errors and we reduced ours which was helpful.”

The third set followed suit with the first, as the Panthers called an early timeout after falling behind 7-2.

Cody eventually made it a 15-5 contest after a kill was blocked out by the Panthers, and the hosts were able to earn the 25-12 win and complete the sweep.

“I think we need to be a little more disciplined in our defense and closing the block to set ourselves up to convert on offense,” Flitner said. “When our block is on time, our defense does a great job. I am hoping that we can be aggressive on offense to keep a solid Lovell team out of system.”

Stats for the Cody contest were not available as of press time.

FINAL HOME GAME TODAY

Powell returns home to end the regular season today (Thursday), welcoming in the Lovell Bulldogs (21-5-2 overall, 6-3 3A West) at 6 p.m.

The Panthers are in need of a win, while the Bulldogs are currently locked into the No. 3 seed heading to the regional tournament.

“I am hoping that we can use our home court advantage and see what we can do against Lovell in our gym. We were close last time, and I’m excited to see what the girls can do this week.”

If Powell wins, it has a chance to move as high as the No. 5 seed as the Panthers have a tiebreaking win over Lyman.

However, the Panthers are currently in a three-way tie at the No. 6 seed with Lander and Worland. The Warriors have defeated the Tigers, the Tigers defeated the Panthers and the 3A Northwest foes split the regular season contests.

If Powell loses, it will likely come down to tiebreakers to determine the postseason position. The Warriors take on Cody and the Tigers face Mountain View, which is locked into the No. 2 seed, today.

3A WEST

Overall record then conference record

1. Cody 29-2, 9-0

2. Mountain View 19-12-1, 8-1

3. Lovell 21-5-2, 6-3

4. Pinedale 17-13-1, 4-5

5. Lyman 16-14-1, 3-6

6. Lander 10-21, 2-7

7. Powell 16-14-1, 2-7

8. Worland 12-15-2, 2-7