PhotoFest: State Volleyball Tournament: Day #1

The State Volleyball Tournament kicked off on Thursday at the Ford Center in Casper with 8 teams from each of the 4 classifications battling for a state title. In 4A, both of the #1 seeds won their quarterfinal matches as defending champion Laramie downed Natrona in 4 sets and Kelly Walsh beat Cheyenne East in 3 sets. The best match of the day in 4A was Sheridan outlasting Green River in 5 sets, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20, 24-26 and 19-17. Thunder Basin won the first-round match 3-0 over Star Valley. So in the semi-final round on Friday, KW takes on Thunder Basin at 4:30 with Laramie playing Sheridan at 6 pm. In the loser-out matches, East and Star Valley at 1 on Friday with Green River taking on Natrona at 2:30.

In 3A, both of the #1 seeds were victorious in round one with Cody dispatching Rawlins in 3 sets and Douglas beating Lovell in 4 sets. Wheatland was a 3-0 winner over Pinedale and Powell got by Torrington 3-1. Cody meets Wheatland in one semi-final on Friday at 4:30 with Powell and Douglas playing each other in the other semi-final at 6. In the consolation round, Pinedale tangles with Rawlins at 1 with Torrington taking on Lovell at 2:30

In 2A, all 4 of the teams the the East won their quarterfinal matches and that wasn't much of a surprise. Defending champion Big Horn beat Big Piney in 3 straight, Tongue River did the same to Shoshoni, Sundance was a 3-0 winner over Rocky Mountain and Pine Bluffs needed 4 sets to down Thermopolis. Sundance tangles with Tongue River in the 1st semi-final on Friday at 4:30 with Big Horn meeting Pine Bluffs in the other semi-final at 6 pm. Shoshoni plays Rocky Mountain in a loser-out match at 1 pm with Thermopolis playing Big Piney in the other loser-out contest.

Finally in 1A, Southeast, a #1 seed defeated Riverside in 5 grueling sets in a terrific match; 25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 25-27, and 16-14. The other #1 seed was Little Snake River who beat Lusk in 3 sets. Upton survived a very tough battle with Encampment in 5 sets, 25-9, 22-25, 21-15, 25-12 and 15-7. Defending champion Cokeville advanced to round 2 beating Lingle-Fort Laramie in 3 straight.

In the semi-finals, Little Snake River battles Upton at 4:30 on Friday with Cokeville drawing Southeast in the other semi-final at 6 PM. Lusk plays Encampment in a consolation round match at 1 pm with Riverside taking on LFL at 2:30. The championship matches will be on Saturday at the Ford Center beginning at 4:30

We have a super-sized collection of photos from the State Volleyball Tournament from Thursday and those can be found in our gallery below. Enjoy and look for someone you know.

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