EVANSTON — Red Devil volleyball took to the road over the past two weeks for three consecutive matches before returning to the friendly confines of Red Devil Gym for one match, going 2-2 from Sept. 14-20. 

Evanston was defeated in three sets by top-ranked and defending Class 4A state champion Kelly Walsh in Casper on Friday, Sept. 14, 25-11, 25-15, 25-11.

“They are very polished. They are the real deal, very solid all around,” head coach Tera Lawlar told the Herald.

“We definitely didn’t put our best foot forward in Casper and that seems to be the story of our season — we’ll play some of our best volleyball and follow it up with some of our worst. On Saturday, we had the chance to reverse that, as we got on the bus from Rawlins to travel into Rock Springs,” Lawlar added. 

Evanston defeated Rock Springs in four sets, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 25-15. Lawlar was concerned as Evanston jumped out to an early lead in the first set they eventually lost, but was pleased with how her team kept its composure, settled in and adopted a “don’t let up” attitude going forth to claim the road victory.

Red Devil volleyball then journied to Afton to battle Star Valley in a 4A Southwest Conference matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The Lady Braves downed Evanston in three sets, 25-16, 25-23 and 29-27.

“Star Valley took us out of our passing game, but I was proud of the way we battled. Most of the matches were very tight,” Lawlar said.

Red Devil volleyball played host to Green River on Thursday, Sept. 20, in another 4A Southwest Conference quadrant showdown. It took five sets, with Evanston winning the first two and the fifth and decisive set for the notch in the win column, before a spirited hometown crowd, especially from the student section at EHS. The scores were 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 27-29 and 15-11.

“We showed grit on Thursday night. Everything seemed to click for us in the first two sets and not so much in the third and fourth,” Lawlar stated.

“But I admired how we battled back and came from behind with it all on the line in the fifth set. We just never gave up.”

Star Valley tops the 4A Southwest Conference standings with a 1-0 mark in conference play and a 17-4 overall record. Evanston is tied for second in the quadrant standings at 1-1 with Green River, but boasts a superior seasonal mark at 11-10 to the Lady Wolves’ 6-10 record.

Red Devil volleyball will host Mountain View, the fourth-ranked team in Class 3A, this evening, with the varsity match scheduled for 6 p.m. Evanston will then play host to Jackson for a 4A Southwest quadrant date with the Lady Broncs on Saturday, Sept. 29.