A little more sleep and a familiar opponent helped Casper play better on the second day of the NJCAA National Tournament.

The T-Birds' result, however, was the same.

No. 11 Salt Lake (Utah) beat No. 14 Casper 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19) on Friday in the losers' bracket in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to eliminate the T-Birds.

"They showed up (Friday) morning," Casper coach Angel Sharman said.

The coach couldn't say the same about her team on Thursday when it was swept by No. 3 Arkansas-Fort Smith in the opening round of the tournament.

On Friday, the T-Birds played an hour later than Thursday's match and played the team it opened the season against. Both of those were reasons Sharman gave for the closer match.

Casper edged Salt Lake in the first game, then mental lapses cost the T-Birds in the final three games.

Freshman outside hitter Konefesi Vaisigano led the T-Birds with nine kills and 10 digs.

The loss ends Casper's season, while Salt Lake advances to play North Idaho for a spot in the ninth-place match.

"We had another 30 plus (win) year with young kids," Sharman said. "They hung in there and started trusting in each other. I thought they had a great year."

The T-Birds finish the season 32-18 and should have a strong shot at returning to National Tournament next year. Casper returns all but two players - sophomores Savannah Searle (setter) and Vanessa Muir (middle hitter) - from this year's squad.