By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

Lady Pirate Emma Eira, number 12, slams home one of 13 kills she made against the Boulder City Eagles during the home varsity volleyball game Tuesday, Oct. 4. Photo by Mike Donahue.

The Lady Pirates varsity volleyball team lost its first league match of the season on Tuesday, October 4 in a four-game, hard-fought battle with Boulder City.

Everything clicked in the first game for the Pirates who came out strong to stun the Eagles 28-18. The Boulder City team came back quickly, however, handily taking the next two games 16-25 and 18-25.

In the fourth game, it looked like the Pirates were going to return to their winning form but the Eagles pulled out a squeaker 23-25.

“We’re still lacking consistency in our play,” said MVHS Coach Mandie Matheson. “To win games you need good passing and good serving and the serving killed us tonight. Our passing was good but we lost a lot of points serving.”

MVHS Principal Grant Hanevold said while the loss was disappointing, the match itself was exciting.

“League games are always competitive,” he said. “I felt like our team played exceptional. We had a chance to pull it out (to force a tie-breaker) but just fell a little short. We’ll play them again down the road and it’ll be anybody’s game.”

Eagles Coach Cherise Roe had good things to say about the Pirates.

“They looked pretty good tonight,” Roe said about the Pirates after the game. “They’re a strong team. It’s always fun when you have some real competition. It makes it more enjoyable for the crowd and the teams.”

She said the Pirates have improved considerably since last year.

Notable statistics during the game included Emma Eira with 13 kills; Malary Reid with five kills, and Shelbie Gray with four kills.

Monday, Oct. 3, the Pirates beat the Rancho Rams 25-14, 25-21 and 25-18 in Las Vegas.