Lady Herders raise $600 in Pink Out Night

By Harrison Epstein
harrison@glenrockind.com

Some things are more important than what happens on the volleyball court. For the team’s home game on Oct. 19 against Pine Bluffs, the Lady Herders rallied together for a cause.
The team wore their pink jerseys, and encouraged the fans to come in their most spirited pink clothing for the team’s Pink Out Night. In previous years, the team had worn their pink jerseys for awareness, according to Brandi Rowe.
Rowe is the mom of senior Jaylee Rowe and helped organize the fundraiser. There was a 50/50 raffle along with two prize baskets. Overall, they raised $600 for the Angel Care Cancer Program after the money from the 50/50, which was won by her husband Ken Rowe, was donated back.
The prize baskets, won by Debra and Rob Vollmar, were both donated back as well and will be given to patients at Rocky Mountain Oncology. On the court, the Lady Herders fought hard right to the very end, losing in five sets to the Pine Bluffs Hornets.
“We just took the number one ranked team in our conference right now to five and that’s more than anybody has done this season. That’s a big thing to us to get our name out there and prove to other schools we’re coming and coming hard,” senior Mandi Tvedt said.
The two teams alternated winning sets with Pine Bluffs taking the first 12–25. Glenrock came back with the support of their pink-clad friends and family to take the second 25–19. The Hornets won the third set 17–25 before the Lady Herders pushed the match to the final fifth set.
Neither team gave up an inch in the closing set — leaping into celebration with every successful point. In the end though, Pine Bluffs claimed the 10–15 set win and claimed the match. It was not just a loss on the court for the Lady Herders as sophomore Skylar Harford injured her wrist late in the match according to head coach Meghan Anderson.
Before their penultimate home match with the Hornets, the Lady Herders hit the road to face Niobrara County Oct. 18. It was the third matchup of the season between the two teams, all of which were won by Glenrock. They won on Thursday in three consecutive sets. The Herders won 26–24, 25–18 and 25–13 in order to seal the win.
Over the two-day set, only three members of the Glenrock High School team recorded double-digit kills. Senior Katelyn Cathcart killed 18 balls, Amanda Shillcox recorded 15 kills and Keely Ottersbach ended with 12 kills. The top assister with the team was Tvedt, collecting 43 over the weekend with 25 against Pine Bluffs.
The only other player with more than 10 assists was junior Alyssa Collier. Collier dished out 13 assists for the girls. Two Lady Herders, Tvedt and Shillcox, picked up a team-leading five aces in the matches. Hartford carried the team in blocks, collecting four, with Ottersbach, Shadrick and Cathcart each getting three of their own. Libero Adelaide Williams led the way in digs for the Herders, keeping 27 balls alive.
The last home game of the year, and the team’s senior night, is Oct. 25 against the Southeast Cyclones. The varsity match will begin at 6 p.m. The regional tournament kicks off Nov. 1 in Moorcroft with the State Tournament in Casper the following week.
“I think that if we go in with the right mindset and everything, we’re going to be like an unbeatable team,” Tvedt said. “We have the potential to go in there and make a mess.”