It was great to finally see where we are in relationship to other teams and to actually see some 1A competition that we have not seen in the last two years. Putting the summer work and practice into game play is always nerve wracking, but I was so impressed with where we are starting the season.”

Coach Emily Cottrell

Up Next

The LFL Lady Doggers travel to play Pine Bluffs on September 5 at 6:30 p.m.

LINGLE – The Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) volleyball team opened the 2024 season on a high note at the annual Dogger Invite it hosted on August 30, successfully defending the home court in three out of four games it played.

LFL opened the tournament with a match against conference rival Rock River early on Friday morning. The Lady Doggers left it all on the court to sweep Rock River, 2-0.

Up next, the Lady Doggers squared off against Arvada-Clearmont to score a 2-0 victory.

The third match against Upton proved more of a challenge. Upton established a significant lead early in both sets. LFL battled back to put a serious dent in Upton’s lead in each set, though the Lady Doggers ultimately fell, 2-0.

Rallying in the fourth match, LFL trounced Kaycee, 2-0.

“It was great to finally see where we are in relationship to other teams and to actually see some 1A competition that we have not seen in the last two years,” coach Emily Cottrell said. “Putting the summer work and practice into game play is always nerve wracking, but I was so impressed with where we are starting the season.”

The Lady Doggers rose to the occasion with solid performances across the board led by the upperclassmen.

“We served and attacked the ball well,” Cottrell added. “I am so impressed with their ability to sub in and out and selflessly play and encourage one another. (Junior) Hallie Fuller and (junior) Jordynn Speckner hit the ball and blocked well. (Junior) Skyla Wunder and (senior) Brenly Shipp led the offense and set the pace of the game and senior libero Kenzi Wilkins was phenomenal on coverage and digging.”

Game 1 – Rock River

LFL hit the ground running in the first set against Rock River. Following a brief back-and-forth early in the set, LFL captured the lead, 5-4, and never looked back.

Kills by Wunder, Shipp, Jordyn Speckner and senior Addison Scott maintained the offensive momentum for the Lady Doggers. Wunder, Shipp and Kenzi Wilkins each aced a serve. On defense, Shipp and Fuller both had blocks. Shipp aced a serve for game point, 25-8.

LFL dominated the second set. Shipp kicked off the set with a trio of aces. Jordynn Speckner aced two serves and tallied a pair of kills. Wunder also scored a pair kills and senior Grace Gibson contributed two kills.

Fuller collected two blocks, an ace and two kills in the second set, including game point, 25-8.

Arvada-Clearmont

The Lady Doggers took control right out of the gate in the first set against Arvada Clearmont. A 10-point run by LFL placed the Lady Doggers up, 11-4. Jordynn Speckner, Fuller and Wunder each scored several kills while Wunder, Jordyn Speckner and sophomore Charlotte Speckner aced their serves.

LFL remained ahead with Arvada-Clearmont only managing a few points. Shipp, Charlotte Speckner and Scott maintained the offensive pressure with kills. An ace by Shipp resulted in game point, 25-7.

The second set followed a similar pattern. LFL opened with a nine-point run, consisting of four aces by sophomore Addisyn Wilkins. Senior Alisha McGraw entered the fray, powering over a kill. Addisyn Wilkins slammed over a kill for game point, 25-5.

Upton

Upton established a 13-point lead, 22-9, in the first set. Digging deep, LFL battled back with kills by Shipp, Wunder and Fuller and an ace from Jordynn Speckner to reduce Upton’s lead to eight points. 

Upton ultimately scored game point, 25-17.

LFL rallied in the second set to whittle down a seven-point lead by Upton to only four points, 24-20, before Upton scored game point, 25-20.

Kaycee

The lead switched back and forth for the first half of the opening set between LFL and Kaycee. Fuller tied the game at six with a kill. Kaycee responded to take the lead, 8-7. A kill from Scott resulted in an 8-8 deadlock.

Fuller aced a serve and the scoreboard favored LFL, 9-8. Kaycee tied the game at nine before a service error by Lady Buckaroos placed the Lady Doggers up, 10-9.

LFL controlled the scoreboard for the remainder of the first set. Fuller widened the Lady Dogger’s lead with five kills. Jordynn Speckner scored game point with a kill, 25-20.

The second set followed a similar pattern. An ace by Jordynn Speckner and a kill from Wunder placed LFL ahead, 5-4. A block by Wunder and Fuller widened LFL’s lead, 6-4.

Kaycee retook the lead, 9-8, before sophomore Kynzie Thomas tied the game at nine with a kill. 

Jordynn Speckner powered over a kill to break a 10-10 stalemate and LFL controlled the scoreboard for the remainder of the set. Two aces by Thomas resulted in game point, 25-17.

Overall stats

The Lady Doggers posted 113 kills over the course of the tournament, led by Fuller with 26. Jordynn Speckner contributed 25 kills, followed by Wunder at 17, Gibson at 14 and Shipp at 11.

Jordynn Speckner set the momentum for LFL on the serving line, tallying 11 aces. Addisyn Wilkins and Wunder both aced five serves.

On defense, Fuller posted 13 blocks with six apiece by Shipp and Wunder.

The Lady Doggers covered the floor well, totaling 248 digs on Friday. Kenzi Wilkins played libero for most of the tournament, posting 68 digs.

Wunder and Shipp both played setter throughout the tournament, delivering 54 and 41 assists, respectively.