CASPER — The MVHS varsity volleyball team, taking a hit at regionals and being named the #2 W seed, the Buffalos donned their uniforms at state, powered down and took the 3A state championship last Friday in Casper.

MVHS head coach Diana Tims said Monday night,” The last time Mountain View won state volleyball was in 1997. Friday was just our day! Everything went as well as it could have. The girls played incredibly well. They executed every component of the game in every set. They were aggressive and smart players. They served and passed impressively. Their defense was awesome and the girls had so much fight in them.”

The last time Mountain View won a state championship in volleyball was 1997. The 2020 group adds their names to an elite list at the school and did it in impressive fashion with a straight-set win over Worland on Friday in Casper.

And as an interesting tidbit for MVHS volleyball, Tims has had a front-row seat for both of the past two state volleyball championships for Mountain View.

Back in 1997, Tims was a sophomore on the Buffalos’ team that swept Worland to win it all. Now, as the head coach at Mountain View, Tims was on the sidelines as her team finished a 9-0 day with a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-10) of Worland to win the championship at the Casper Events Center.

At the tournament last Friday, it was batter up, (Nah, that’s baseball) but take positions at the net, set up and play. The Buffalos started the day at 10 a.m. with #3E Wheatland. The Buffalos powered down and handed the Bulldogs three strong losses: 25-17, 25-16, 25-10; with the third set more lopsided.

When #1W Pinedale won their game in this time slot against #4 E Buffalo, it looked like the two teams might again battle for first place depending on how their second games went.

Both were back on the floor in the semi-finals at 1 p.m. Pinedale against #3 W Worland and Mountain View against #1 E Douglas.

The Buffalos hit their game against Douglas, which turned to be a bigger challenge, but Mountain View took on the challenge and again took control and the win in three: 25-23, 25-20, 2-22.

Third game of the day on tap was against the Worland Warriors. The Warriors had upset the Pinedale Wranglers and blocked Pinedale’s chance for the championship.

Worland took the lead in the first set in the first set after Worland went on an 8-3 run to build a 14-10 lead. The Buffalos battled back and claimed the first set as their own.

The Buffalos put together another impressive burst in the second set as they jumped out to a 13-4 lead, survived a Worland flurry midway through, and got the victory when the Warriors were whistled for a net violation.

In the third set, Worland had a slight lead when the score was 3-2, 5-4, but at 7-6 the Buffalos had a one-point lead and never looked back. The game ended with Mountain View taking the game with a 15-point lead and taking their third game of the day in three sets: 25-21, 25-18, 25-10.

In reference to the Buffalos tournament play last week, Tims said, “They never gave up. They worked as a team in every single set while playing with passion and emotion. It was just a perfect day. They kept their momentum rolling and never dropped a single set. I am super proud of each of them and the team chemistry this year that helped them achieve this state championship. It will be a day to remember forever for this team.”