Lady Blazers state tourney bound

Erick Starkey
Posted 11/1/17

The Torrington Lady Trailblazers secured their spot in the 3A State Tournament after going 2-2 and finishing fourth at the east regional tournament in Newcastle over the weekend.

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Lady Blazers state tourney bound

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NEWCASTLE – The Torrington Lady Trailblazers secured their spot in the 3A State Tournament after going 2-2 and finishing fourth at the east regional tournament in Newcastle over the weekend.

The Lady Blazers, who were the second seed from their quadrant, got going on the right track to open the tournament, sneaking away with a four-set win over Worland. The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with the biggest lead by either team at four points. Torrington got out to one of its four-point leads after a kill by Nakalyn Garner (14-10), but then the Lady Warriors scored two in a row.

Torrington held on to a marginal lead until back-to-back tips by Worland tied the score at 21, forcing a Lady Blazer timeout. Coming out of the break, Torrington scored four-straight to seal the 25-21 win.

In the second set, the Lady Blazers used their opening win to ride the momentum to a six-point lead early (8-2). After trailing 9-3, Worland went on a 10-1 run, ripping the lead from Torrington and growing a 13-10 lead of their own. The Lady Blazers battled to tie the score up at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 before two Lady Warrior points were scored.

Down 22-20, Torrington scored three-straight, including an ace by Paige Miller. An Adia Sherbeyn kill put Torrington up 25-24, but Worland added another point to its total. Logan Murphy handled business to end the set, recording back-to-back kills to give the Lady Blazers a 27-25 win.

The Lady Warriors put their losses behind them and picked up a wire-to-wire win in the third set. They rushed out to a 6-1 lead and Torrington failed to recover. They trimmed the lead to two points on five occasions, but never got closer. At set point (24-19), the Lady Blazers scored two in a row, including a kill from Ashley Schlagel, but Worland scored its final point to win the set.

The fourth set had five ties between the two teams, but that did not stop Torrington from going on many small runs. Miller had a kill to put Torrington up 8-4 and Murphy had two kills to continue that margin (10-6 and 11-7). Worland came back to tie the game at 13 and it was a fight to the finish, with two more ties. Torrington grew two more four-point leads but the Lady Warriors mostly erased them, bringing the score to 23-33. Torrington went on to score on a service error and a block by Garner and Sherbeyn to win the fourth and final set.

“I think the girls did really well. They came out hard and won the first game, which was crucial,” Jackson said. “It just put us in a much better position.”

Murphy had a stellar game, accounting for 26 kills and 23 digs, both of which were team-highs. She also had two blocks and an assist. Adia Sherbeyn was second in both kills (8) and digs (22), while adding a block and an ace. Miller led the way for Torrington in aces, accounting for two, along with two kills, a block and seven digs.

In the back line, Taylor Walsh tallied up 19 digs, two assists and an ace. Brooklyn Tucker and Katelynn Wright each had an ace in the win, while accounting for 23 and 12 assists, respectively. The duo also combined for 22 digs and four kills.

Schlagel, Garner and Brielle Bivens combined for 13 kills, three blocks, two assists and 13 digs.

Rawlins 3, Torrington

In the semi-finals, Torrington squared off against No. 1 ranked Rawlins. The Lady Blazers fell in the first set 25-16. They kept pace with the Lady Outlaws, in the second set, falling 25-22, before being outlasted in the third, 25-11.

Sherbeyn pace the Lady Blazers in both the kill department, with seven, and the dig department, with 10. Murphy chipped in an ace, six kills and a dig before suffering an injury. Bivens stepped up to contribute four kills, two blocks and four digs, while Schlagel accounted for three kills, a block and four digs.

Tucker led the way in assists, with nine, while Wright and Morgan Bates contributed five apiece. The trio also had two aces and eight digs.

Torrington 3, Thermopolis 0

In the lower bracket, Torrington met Thermopolis in a game where the winner qualified for the state tournament and the loser’s season ended. The Lady Blazers rose to the challenge, winning the first set 25-13. The closest set was the second, where Torrington beat the Lady Bearcats 25-18. The Lady Blazers punched their ticket for the state tournament after winning the third set 25-16.

The Lady Blazers racked up 14 aces over the Lady Bobcats. Sherbeyn led the way in the area with four, while Bivens kicked in another three. Wright, Murphy and Garner each had two to their credit, while Tucker kicked in the last one.

Murphy returned to the top of the stat sheet in both kills (13) and digs (9). Sherbeyn added six kills and seven digs of her own. Schlagel finished the game with four kills and four digs. Wright stepped to the lead in assists, with 10, which she paired with six digs.

Worland 3, Torrington 0

The win over Thermopolis already solidified Torrington’s spot in the state tournament, but the Lady Blazers had to play for their seed. They matched up against Worland for the second time in as many days for the third-place game, with the winner taking the third seed for the state tournament.

The first set was just as tight as the first match between the two programs, with Worland winning 25-23. The Lady Blazers lost the second set 25-20 and were overpowered in the third set 25-16.

“There were a lot of factors (in falling to Worland in the second matchup),” Jackson said. “We played back-to-back and they had a break. We also have beaten them two times in a row and it is tough to win a third time against the same team.”

Torrington continued its hot play from the service line, especially Sherbeyn, who had five aces. She rounded out her stat line with six kills, a block and 24 digs. Bivens, with 16, and Murphy, with 12, were not far behind in the digging department. Murphy led the way with her 16 kills. Miller had a block party, recording four blocks against Worland, followed closely by Garner and Murphy, who both had three.

The Lady Blazers sit at 13-13 this season. They locked up the fourth seed from the east for the state tournament, which will be played out in Casper this weekend. Torrington’s first game is Thursday against Riverton at 6 p.m.