An athletic seventh grade volleyball team showed plenty of growth in its first year on the court, with the Powell Middle School Cubs posting a 5-8 record.

Early in the season the Cubs split a pair of matches, losing to Riverton 2-1 while defeating Lander 2-1 as Kimber Allan led the team against Riverton with nine points and Jersee Erickson led the Cubs against Lander with nine points.

In a close match against Laurel which went the distance in a 21-19 third set the Cubs fell 2-1, with Blayke Tharp leading the team with 15 points.

Another loss came against Lovell 2-1, with Allan leading again with eight points.

Powell snapped the two game losing streak to sweep Worland 3-0, as Harlow Crow led in scoring for the Cubs.

A difficult match against Cody saw the Cubs losing 3-0, led by Autumn Kleinfeldt with 16 points.

Powell followed that match with a 2-1 win against Rocky led by Iyla Whitlock’s three aces before defeating Burlington by the same scoreline 2-1 led by Tharp in aces and kills.

In the second matchup against Lovell the Cubs fell 2-1 again, led by Erickson in scoring.

Earning another win over Worland, this time 2-1, the Cubs tried to gain some late season momentum heading into their final matchup against Cody after Whitlock earned five aces.

Against Cody the Cubs picked up a set, but fell 2-1, led by Addison Fetter in aces.

In the postseason tournament the Cubs fell to Lander in two sets, led by Tharp in aces, kills and blocks while Maci Magill led in assists.

The final match of the season was a three set loss to Riverton. Tharp led in aces, Fetter and Tharp each had two kills and Kimber Allen had the most assists.

In addition to the ‘A’ team the Cub ‘B’ team posted a 4-6-1 record, including a victory over Cody in the final match of the season and a pair of wins against Lander and Cody in the postseason tournament in which the team finished 2-1. 

“This is a very athletic group of girls, they just don’t have a lot of experience with volleyball and are playing against teams who have played for numerous years,” coach Jodee Metzler said. “They continued to improve throughout the season and with a firm understanding of skills, they will continue to grow on the volleyball court.”

Metzler said that the team was able to get a good understanding of the basic skills of volleyball, and that combined with their natural athleticism should help them down the line.

“This group is very athletic. They have a lot of natural talent,” Metzler said. “With more experience in volleyball, they will continue to perfect their skills to the competitive level.”

She said that typically starting competitive sports can be a big adjustment for seventh grade teams, but this group was able to show up every day and continue to improve their game.

“This is a very coachable group,” Metzler said. “Starting competitive school sports is a big adjustment for many. You have practice every day, morning practices and you have to give up weekend activities for competitions. These girls showed up, worked hard, and never gave up on improving within the sport.”