Making the long trip down to Evanston paid off for the Powell Panther volleyball players, as they finished with a 5-3 record competing against teams from Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.

Powell lost to Jackson 2-0 to start Friday  before sweeping Cheyenne South, Tabiona and Manila 2-0.

The Panthers then started Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Cheyenne East and a 2-0 loss to Bonneville (1) before defeating Star Valley 2-1 and Bonneville (2) 2-0.

JACKSON 2, POWELL 0

(26-24, 27-25)

Kicking off the tournament the Panthers (9-3) matched up with an in-state opponent in the 4A Broncs (4-4).

Both sets between the teams were a close battle to the end, but Jackson edged out the Panthers in extra points 26-24, 27-25.

“It was a close game,” coach Anna Flitner said. “It was disappointing and exciting because I don’t think we played anywhere near our best but we still hung in there with a 4A team.”

POWELL 2, CHEYENNE SOUTH 0

(25-21, 25-15)

Heading into the second match, the Panthers got a chance to take down another 4A team, this time against a team from the east in the Bison (2-11).

The Panthers won a close first set 25-21, before Powell won a stronger second set 25-15.

POWELL 2, TABIONA 0

(25-12, 25-19)

Earning that first win on Friday allowed the Panthers to settle in against Tabiona (5-9) out of Utah.

Powell carried over the momentum from the South game and came out with a convincing first set win 25-12, before winning the second set 25-19.

POWELL 2, MANILA 0 

(25-18, 25-11)

Finishing out Friday the Panthers then took on Manila (8-6), another team based out of Utah.

Powell finished out the first day with another win, defeating the Mustangs 25-18 and 25-11.

CHEYENNE EAST 2, POWELL 1

(25-17, 22-25, 12-15)

Heading into Saturday the Panthers played with another 4A East team, taking on the Cheyenne East Thunderbirds (8-5).

Powell took the first set 25-17, but the Thunderbirds took the second set 25-22 to force a winner take all third set.

Cheyenne East just edged out the Panthers, winning the third set 15-12.

“Cheyenne East was one where it could have gone either way,” Flitner said. “I didn’t think that we played our best in that one either.”

BONNEVILLE (1) 2, POWELL 0

(16-25, 21-25)

After the loss, the Panthers took on another out of state opponent, Bonneville (5-1) out of Idaho.

Another difficult opponent saw the Panthers fall short, with Flitner noting how good the Bonneville team was in its 25-16, 25-21 win.

“That was probably one of the toughest teams we’ve seen this year, and that we will probably see a lot of the season,” Flitner said. “I was impressed with the Bonneville team.”

POWELL 2, STAR VALLEY 1

(19-25, 25-22, 15-13)

After two straight losses, Flitner said the Panthers came together and regrouped before taking on the Braves (6-7) in the third match of the day.

“We had a team meeting prior to Star Valley, talking about how we could build each other up as a team and what we needed to do when we made errors,” Flitner said. “We talked about a bunch of different team chemistry things, because sometimes it’s hard when you’re playing four games in a day and you have two losses back-to-back.”

After an opening set loss 25-19, the Panthers rebounded in two close sets to claim a 25-22 and 15-13 win.

“I felt like Star Valley was one of the better games that we played as a team overall,” Flitner said. “I think that all of the things were clicking for the girls against Star Valley. Our hitters were making connections with our setters and our defense looked really solid. That was probably the best game that we played team wise, and I think they all had the most fun.”

POWELL 2, BONNEVILLE (2) 0

(25-18, 25-23)

Rounding out the weekend the Panthers took on another Bonneville team, hoping to end on a high in their eighth game.

Powell ended up finishing with a 25-18, 25-23 two set win, to end the weekend 5-3 overall.

“I think that was the best part of the tournament overall is seeing some different competition and our biggest weaknesses that were maybe highlighted by some of those really good teams, that was the biggest takeaway,” Flitner said. “I would say if anything was fatigued after the eight matches, it was probably mental. It is probably hard to stay focused for eight matches in two days and think about all the things and bounce back when you play back-to-back games.”

RAWLINS TOURNAMENT

Powell now heads on the road for its final tournament of the regular season, heading to Rawlins to take part in a tournament that features nearly every 3A team.

The only 3A team that will not be in attendance is Cody, who will be replaced by Jackson in the 16 team tournament.

Powell is set to be in pool B, with the other three teams being Burns (1-12), Buffalo (6-6) and Pinedale (8-4).

The Panthers will take on Buffalo first, followed by Pinedale and then Burns with matches beginning at noon on a rolling schedule on Friday.

After pool play, the top two teams will advance to the Gold Bracket and the bottom two teams will be placed in the Silver Bracket. Matches will be best of three sets to 21 points.

“I think what I would really like to see us do is focus this week in practice on the things that we noticed were maybe areas of weakness within our play and game, and really hitting those hard this week,” Flitner said.