The Powell Panther volleyball team overcame a difficult start to the 3A West Regional Tournament to qualify for state and advance to the regional championship on Saturday in front of the home crowd.

The Panthers defeated Worland and Mountain View by 3-2 scores on Friday before a slow start against the rival Cody Fillies stopped the Panthers from winning a second straight regional crown with a 3-1 loss on Saturday evening.

POWELL 3, WORLAND 2

(25-27, 25-14, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12)

Out of the gates the No. 2 seeded Panthers (26-7-1) nearly overcame a first set deficit against the No. 7 seeded Warriors (12-19).

Worland pushed ahead early and almost gave up a seven point lead late to the Panthers, who stormed back but came up short 27-25.

“Worland was playing really strong, and I think our girls had lots of jitters and were worried about things,” coach Anna Flitner said. “I feel like going to state has been a goal of theirs for quite awhile, and so they just felt the pressure. This first win is so important because then we can at least play to go to state and we don’t have to worry about losing again and being out so I think they had all that going on.”

In the second set the Panthers pushed ahead early and held the lead for good, pulling away for a 25-14 win to even the match 1-1.

Worland once again came out strong in the third set and pushed ahead of the hosts for a 25-18 win to put the Panthers on the ropes in the first round.

The Panthers responded, earning a 25-16 win and forcing a fifth set.

In that fifth set neither team held a significant lead, as Powell used a small push towards the end of the set to pull out a 15-12 win and survive to advance to the semifinals.

“They [Worland] were playing really strong and getting some good swings in and shutting down some of our hitters at the same time,” Flitner said. “They put up a really solid fight.”

POWELL 3, MOUNTAIN VIEW 2

(25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13)

In the semifinals it was a rematch of last year’s state championship game, as the Panthers took on the No. 6 seeded Buffalos (19-17) who had upset No. 3 seeded Lyman in the previous round.

Powell came out stronger in a match that would not see either team garner a significant advantage as each set was tight throughout.

“It’s always hard in those regional and state tournaments because you have to prepare for so many possibilities of who you’ll play,” Flitner said. “I think we were able to maybe reset a little bit, but playing back-to-back on the same day I think is hard for some of the girls.”

The Panthers pulled ahead in the first set for a 25-20 win, but the Buffalos responded with a 25-21 win to tie it 1-1.

In the third set, the Panthers mirrored the previous set win by the visitors, earning a 25-21 win to take a 2-1 lead.

Mountain View then followed with the largest victory of the match, taking a 25-17 win and forcing a fifth set between the two teams.

The Panthers pulled ahead late in the final set, earning a 14-10 advantage before a late rally by Mountain View made it 14-13.

Addison Holcomb ended the match with a kill and sent the Panthers through to the state tournament.

“They [Mountain View] have some really strong hitters and we just talked about trying to keep them out of system so that they weren’t able to get set up every single time. Because when they were able to, they were often getting kills,” Flitner said. “It was a huge relief [qualifying]. The pressure is off at that time, there’s a lot of highs and lows throughout the day. I know I was exhausted, I’m sure the girls were exhausted.”

CODY 3, POWELL 1

(17-25, 13-25, 25-21, 22-25)

A long day Saturday delayed the championship match by nearly 2 1/2 hours between the Panthers and Fillies (27-5).

Cody came out strong against the hosts, leading 6-0 before the Panthers scored a point.

Powell rallied to get within three points at 10-7, but the Fillies reestablished their advantage to make the lead as many as nine before Powell closed the gap in a 25-17 first set loss.

The second set did not go much better, as Cody pulled ahead early and did not allow the Panthers a way back into a 25-13 win.

“We do have a pre-game routine but are there things that we need to change in terms of getting ready for matches? Because it does seem sometimes that it takes us a while to get started and to kind of find our groove. That is hard in those tournaments because the warmups aren’t very long,” Flitner said.

In the third set Powell found its footing, leading early and maintaining the lead through a Holcomb block for a 17-14 advantage.

Catelynn Floy helped Powell keep that lead late with a kill, and Powell pulled away for a 25-21 win.

Cody led early in the fourth set as Powell was unable to convert long rallies into points and continued to trail until midway through.

Powell eventually tied the set at 14, taking the lead at 16-15 and Holcomb extended it to 17-15.

Cody responded to take a 23-20 lead late, and Powell was unable to find points late as the Fillies won 25-22.

“You have to give Cody credit. You think that you’re keeping them out of system for a second and their setters can make really amazing plays on the ball and get their hitters set up in situations that you weren't necessarily expecting,” Flitner said. “I am always excited to play Cody because they are just such a strong team and it’s an opportunity for really great volleyball.”

STATE TOURNAMENT

Heading into the state tournament the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed out of the west, and will face a similar route to last year if they want to make a second straight state championship game in Casper.

In the first round the Panthers will take on the east No. 3 seed Torrington (21-14) at 4:30 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center on Thursday, a team Powell has not seen this season.

“Hopefully we can talk about it prior and work through some exercises to figure out how we’re going to manage the jitters and the noise. I think the biggest thing will just be to play until you are sure that you hear the whistle, because it does get loud in there [FWC] and we’ve talked about how sometimes nervousness feels the exact same as excitement in the body,” Flitner said. “I don’t really know anything about Torrington, so it’ll be lots of digging up film and trying to see what their strengths are and how we can best match up with that.”

If Powell wins, it will take on the winner of east No. 1 seed Douglas (32-4) and west No. 4 seed Lovell (14-15) at 6 p.m. on Friday.

If Powell loses, it will take on the loser of that contest at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

3A WEST TOURNAMENT

Game 1: No. 1 Cody def. No. 8 Lovell 3-1 (25-11, 25-16, 25-27, 25-19)

Game 2: No. 5 Pinedale def. No. 4 Lander 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-21)

Game 3: No. 6 Mountain View def. No. 3 Lyman 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13)

Game 4: No. 2 Powell def. No. 7 Worland 3-2 (25-27, 25-14, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12)

Game 5: Cody def. Pinedale 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-10)

Game 6: Powell def. Mountain View 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13)

Game 7: Lovell def. Lander 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 19-25, 25-23)

Game 8: Lyman def. Worland 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-13)

Game 9: Lovell def. Mountain View 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 25-10)

Game 10: Pinedale def. Lyman 3-1 (25-23, 25-10, 22-25, 26-24)

Game 11: Pinedale def. Lovell 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-21, 29-27); Third place game

Game 12: Cody def. Powell 3-1 (25-17, 25-13, 21-25, 25-22)

3A STATE TOURNAMENT

(All games at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper)

THURSDAY

Game 1: 1 p.m. No. 1W Cody (27-5) vs. No. 4E Rawlins (9-22-1)

Game 2: 2:30 p.m. No. 2E Wheatland (26-7) vs. No. 3W Pinedale (21-13-1)

Game 3: 4:30 p.m. No. 2W Powell (26-7-1) vs. No. 3E Torrington (21-14)

Game 4: 6 p.m. No. 1E Douglas (32-4) vs. No. 4W Lovell (14-15)

FRIDAY

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

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

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

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

SATURDAY

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

Game 10: 10:30 a.m. Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7

Game 11: 2:30 p.m. Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (Third Place Game)

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