Herder volleyball puts up a good fight in home loss to Buffalo

GHS Girls Volleyball 2022 Glenrock WY

RJ Morgan photo

Herder seniors Ann-Marie Young (left) and Makenzie Partridge team up for a stuffed block against a strong-hitting Bison squad. 

By: 
RJ Morgan

The Glenrock High School volleyball team has created problems for nearly every foe it has faced. However, converting momentum into victory has eluded the team for weeks and that struggle continued at home Sept. 22 against state-ranked Buffalo.

From clutch defensive plays and timely hitting at the net, the Herders continue to compete with the best in sports during every match. Even against the Bison, GHS was within six points in each of the first two sets and even led late in the third set, but could not maintain the consistency in a 25-15, 25-11, 25-19 loss.

To make things a little tougher, Buffalo has peaked in the last few weeks and was just 48 hours out from dismantling Douglas in three sets. That pushed BHS over the .500 mark for the first time at 11-10-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while GHS slipped to 2-17 and 0-3, respectively.

Backed by a loud and proud student section, the Herders were sharp to open the match. They grabbed the first lead of the game thanks to a pair of spectacular defensive saves by  Hailey O’Brien and Evie Sivage.

Like most of the team’s run of points, this one was short lived. Buffalo responded with a pair of kills and scored on a pair of unforced errors to take a  9-6 advantage.

Glenrock stopped the run thanks to a middle attack courtesy of Annie Krosnarova and an ace from O’Brien.

The Bison relied on their relentless offense to keep GHS from reclaiming the lead. Two more unforced errors allowed the visitors to move ahead by eight points.

The Herders made one last run. A stuffed block by Ann-Marie Young, a block by Caitlyn Williams and kill from Julia Sarvey provided the team with one of its many short runs.

The run ended and so did their hopes for victory. BHS served up an ace and two more attacks to win the opening set.

Buffalo scored five of the first six points of the second set to put GHS in a bind early. Still, the team did not give up and relied on back-to-back kills from Sarvey and Young to give the team some life and pull with four.

That was as close as it got. The Bison scored eight of the final 11 points to take the middle set.

Glenrock proved that it does not quit. Led by the network of Makenzi Partridge, Williams and Krosnarova, along with the defensive work of Sivage, the Converse County girls jumped out to a 4-1 lead. BHS capitalized on two hitting miscues to tie the score at 4-4.

The Herders weren’t finished. Outside attacks via Megann Farley, Young and Sarvey helped push the team to its biggest lead of the match at 16-12.

It was the ability to seal the deal that haunted GHS throughout the match and as every successful run ended with miscues that gave the momentum back. The Bison took advantage of it and an ace allowed them to even the score at 18-18.

A hitting error and a service error allowed Buffalo to grab its first lead of the set. This time, a block by Williams allowed Glenrock to take its lead back.

That was the final lead of the night. The Bison tied the score on a service error and followed by scoring the final six points to end the match before the Herders to make another run.

The Herders were unable to build on some of that momentum when they hit the road to state-ranked Wheatland Friday night. They were denied in three sets, 25-16, 25-12, 25-14.

Glenrock will return to the court when it hits the road Thursday for a 5 p.m. match at Torrington.

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Glenrock Independent

Physical Address:506 W. Birch, Glenrock, WY 82637 Mailing Address: PO Box 109, Douglas, WY 82633 Phone: (307) 436-2211

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