Coaches rarely ever want a season to end, and this year, I can say that I really did not want the season to end. This group of girls is an amazing group, the work hard, they work together, they were so willing to adapt to changes that we made mid-season, and they believe in each other and the coaching staff.”

Coach Emily Cottrell

CASPER – The 2024 volleyball season wrapped up for the Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) Lady Doggers at the 1A state championships in Casper from November 7-9.

The tournament kicked off with a match between the Lady Doggers and Cokeville on Thursday. LFL fought to keep the score close in each set, but Cokeville ultimately won in three sets.

The Lady Doggers squared off against Riverside in the consolation bracket in a five-set, point-for-point battle. Riverside pulled ahead by six in the tiebreaker fifth set to win the match, 3-2.

The Lady Doggers finished a successful regular season with a 23-7 overall record and an 8-2 conference record to snag the No. 2 seed in the 1A Southeast Quadrant going into the regional tournament.

LFL dug deep to overcome an initial setback at the 1A East regional tournament in Guernsey to snag the consolation title after defeating Niobrara County in four sets, 3-1, on November 2.

“Coaches rarely ever want a season to end, and this year, I can say that I really did not want the season to end,” coach Emily Cottrell said. “This group of girls is an amazing group, the work hard, they work together, they were so willing to adapt to changes that we made mid-season, and they believe in each other and the coaching staff. There could not have been a better group of young ladies to embark on my first year as head coach, the love they have for the game, putting in the time to improve their game, and the cohesiveness they have as a 'family' will be hard to match.”

Cokeville

Cokeville defeated LFL in three sets, 25-19, 25-19 and 25-23.

Junior Skyla Wunder led the Lady Dogger offense with nine kills. Juniors Hallie Fuller and Jordynn Speckner each tallied four kills with three apiece by sophomore Charlotte Speckner and senior Grace Gibson. Senior Brenly Shipp rounded the tally out with two kills.

On the service line, Wunder scored two aces with one ace by both senior Kenzi Wilkins and Shipp.

Shipp set up 12 assists and Wunder delivered 11.

Defensively, sophomore Kynzi Thomas covered the floor with 18 blocks while Fuller contributed 13 digs and Jordynn Speckner 12.

Shipp excelled on defending the net with eight blocks. Charlotte Speckner and Jordynn Speckner both tallied two blocks.

Riverside

The match between LFL and Riverside turned into a five-set, point-for-point battle. The Lady Doggers threw the first punch and won the opening set, 25-16.

The second set went well beyond 25 with Riverside winning, 28-26. The Lady Rebels won the third set, 25-21, before LFL turned the tables to defeat Riverside in the fourth set, 25-20.

Riverside went on to win the fifth set, 15-9.

Three Lady Doggers posted double-digit kills against Riverside, including 11 by Shipp and 10 each from Jordynn Speckner and Fuller. Wunder and Charlotte Speckner each collected nine kills while Gibson tallied four.

Shipp aced four serves, Wunder and Fuller three each. Wilkins and Charlotte Speckner served up two aces apiece and Jordynn Speckner contributed one.

Shipp led in assists with 22 while Wunder tallied 12.

Fuller covered the floor with 24 digs. Wunder and Wilkins both recorded 19 digs with Jordynn Speckner 17 and Thomas 15.

Shipp reached up for four blocks while Wunder and Charlotte Speckner each tallied two.