By Amanda Monk
Moapa Valley Progress
It has been years since W. Mack Lyon Middle School has had a volleyball team. But this year, MVHS Varsity coach Mandie Matheson saw a need for middle school aged girls to have a head start before they enter high school volleyball.
She called Bridget Russo about coaching a middle school volleyball team and Russo hit the ground running. “I’m extremely passionate about the sports programs in the valley for the kids and am honored to be a part of it,” she said.
The interest among the middle school girls was overwhelming. No try-outs were held. Players could just walk on and play. Two teams of interested girls were quickly recruited, calling themselves Moapa Valley Bridget (MVB) and Moapa Valley Tiffany (MVT). The first practices were held on September 13.
After just two weeks of practicing Russo tried to scheduled a small scrimmage game for Sat. Sep 25. But this soon turned into an all day round robin tournament with teams from Alamo, Lund, Ely, Mesquite, Las Vegas and two Cedar City teams coming to Moapa Valley to play.
Games began at 8:00 am and went without a hitch. The purpose was for all teams to get in as much play time as possible. Many coaches and players expressed their thanks to Russo for organizing the tournament.
The early morning match between Virgin Valley and MVT brought the best out in Delia Rubio. Rubio served an impressive 13 points against the bulldogs, giving MVT their first win.
Dani Elle Russo served an average of 8 winning points per team. Hailey Holt, Josie Henrie, Emily Mills, Tawnee Leavitt, Hannah Allen, Natalie Adams, and Shiley Blackwell also had high serving win averages against the teams. All the girls shared an equal playing time.
The traveling teams’ next games will take place in Alamo on Oct. 2.
