The Rock River volleyball team turned around a rough start to the season to recently vault into first place in the Class 1A Southeast standings.
The Lady Longhorns were 11-7 overall before three matches Saturday against Upton, Midwest and Hulett at the Upton Jamboree.
The Lady Longhorns started the season at the Lingle-Fort Laramie Invitational where they lost to five teams, followed by a win on their home court against Midwest followed by two losses on the first day of the Wind River Tournament.
Veteran Rock River coach Heather Alexander reevaluated her lineup, made some changes to the team rotation and the Lady Longhorns pushed on to defeat 2A St. Stephens, 2A Wyoming Indian, 2A Rocky Mountain, 1A Dubois, 2A Wind River, 2A Big Piney, 1A Guernsey-Sunrise, 1A Arvada-Clearmont and 1A Saratoga for a nine-match winning streak.
Rock River was just outside the top five in the most recent WyoPreps.com Coaches and Media poll released last Thursday. The Lady Longhorns are No. 6 tied with Hulett and Meeteetse with six points.
The Lady Longhorns do not have a senior on the roster, but return five starting players from the 2020 season. They are led by juniors Paige Flores and Emerald Niswender, sophomores Jentry Sims, Naomi Moore and Mikayla Alexander. New to the varsity rotation this season are junior Aurora Starks and sophomore Mia Codallos.
Also on the roster are junior Jaeden Cleven, sophomore Dava McCamant and freshmen Brooklyn Murphy, Makiah Romriell and Nevaeh Young.
The Lady Longhorns junior varsity are coached by Baylea Vallier.
Rock River last competed in the 1A state tournament in 2017, placing fourth after advancing to the consolation final.
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