Herder volleyball heads into State as No. 4 seed

By Harrison Epstein
harrison@glenrockind.com

It didn’t go quite the way they wanted. Every member of the Glenrock High School volleyball team wanted to go out and dominate the 2A East Regional Tournament.
Unfortunately for them, sometimes the wrong opponent at the wrong time gets in the way. As the poet Robert Burns said, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Rather than steamroll the competition, the Lady Herders struggled at the outset in their match against the Moorcroft Wolves.
It was the third time this season the two have faced off. They tied in the first match-up and Moorcroft won 3–0 in the second. The girls were looking forward to the game, a chance to get revenge against the Wolves on their home court.
Moorcroft jumped out and swept Glenrock in three sets to win the first round. The tournament was double elimination, so the Lady Herders weren’t sent to pasture quite yet.
They needed to play nearly perfect to get to the third place game and earn themselves a spot in the 2A State Championship. The consolation bracket included an extra match for the Lady Herders, but first they had an appointment with the Lusk Tigers.
For the fourth time in four matches this season, Glenrock came out on top 3–0. Even with the sweep, the win was close. The Tigers fought hard in each and every set, with Glenrock winning them, in order, 25–21, 25–18 and 25–20.
Because they were in the consolation bracket, the Lady Herders would have to play twice the second day to advance to the State Championship. They were determined to play for the title. As senior Mandi Tvedt said after their last home game, they wanted to end the season in Casper, not Moorcroft.
A 9 a.m. battle with the Southeast Cyclones kicked off the second day of play. Glenrock had no issues in their breakfast bout, stopping the Cyclones in their tracks 3–1. With their fate entirely in their own hands, the Lady Herders jumped out to a first set win 25–20.
Southeast fought back in the second to tie up the match, 21–25. At this point, teams switch sides of the court and huddle up. Head coach Meghan Anderson’s squad knew they couldn’t give in one more inch or their title hopes would be dashed. Instead, the Lady Herders worked together to win the third and fourth sets 25–20 and 25–18. The win moved them into the afternoon match — the East Regional third place match against Sundance.
The first battle between the two teams this year, Sundance came out ahead, winning in three sets over the Lady Herders. The Bulldogs had the momentum going in and kept Glenrock at arm’s length. Sundance won the three sets 16–25, 19–25 and 11–25.
With the loss in the books, Glenrock became the No. 4 seed at the 2A State Tournament with a 16–16–2 record.
There’s no more second chances from here on out. The Glenrock girls need to go on a three-game winning streak if they want to become State Champions.
Their first match is up against the top-seeded Wind River Cougars Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Casper Events Center. If they can get through the Cougars, they’ll be facing the winners of the Wright/Greybull match.