MOUNTAIN VIEW — The Mountain View High School volleyball team had an uphill climb during Class 3A West regional play over the weekend.

The Lady Buffalos, the No. 3 seed in the South, suffered a 25-11, 28-26, 23-25, 25-22 loss to Riverton (No. 2 North) in the first round. 

Mountain View had to win its next two games to keep its season alive. And that’s exactly what the Lady Buffalos did.

“I was really impressed,” coach Diana Thomas said. “They responded really well that day. They knew what was on the line and they played their hearts out.”

Mountain View rolled to a 25-14, 25-13, 25-7 victory over Lander (No. 4 North) in its first must-win game on Saturday before claiming a 25-13, 25-19, 25-14 win over Cody (No. 1 North).

The Lady Eagles concluded regional play with a fourth-place finish after suffering a 25-20, 25-14, 24-26, 25-21 loss to Lyman (No. 1 North) in the third-place game. 

“Hopefully they have the same mentality and same mental toughness at state,” Tims said. 

Mountain View (16-16) will take on Douglas (26-7; No. 1 East) at 1 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament at the Casper Events Center. 

The winner of the opening-round matchup will take on the winner of Worland (No. 3 East) and Star Valley (No. 2 West) in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The loser plays in a consolation-round game against Worland or Star Valley at 1 p.m. Friday. 

“We need to be there to compete for every single ball,” Tims said. “We have to give it our best 100 percent of the time and good things will happen.”