MVHS Volleyball Defeats Gorman JV In Learning Match

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Volleyball team had just one game last week. It was an out of league matchup, but it was surely exciting and it was a learning experience for the team.

The Pirates took on a JV team from Bishop Gorman. The Moapa girls had seen this Gaels team earlier this season in a tournament and had won against it twice. However this team was slightly different.
“We had played one of their JV teams at a tournament, so the girls assumed that would be the team we would be playing, but it wasn’t,” explained MVHS head coach Mandie Matheson. “They were a little better than we anticipated.”

The Gaels came out and defeated the Pirates 25-14 in the first set. However, the Pirates responded with a narrow 26-24 win in the second. Bishop Gorman came out in the third and won assertively 25-15.
The match seemed in doubt for the Pirates, and it looked as if their challenging opponent might get the best of them. But the Pirates responded well, winning the fourth set 25-12, and setting up a decisive fifth set.

In a close one, Moapa edged out Bishop Gorman 15-13, giving the Pirates the hard-earned victory, despite the tough start.
“The girls were a little lethargic from playing in the tournament they had the weekend before,” Matheson said. “They played all out for two days and were a little rusty come Monday. But they found a way to get the win so I was proud of them for that.”

Matheson expressed pride in her team’s determination. “I thought the girls showed a lot of grit, pushing through whatever was holding them back,” she said. “We made some adjustments with rotations but ultimately the girls just had to play their game; and they did and ended up on top.”

With the season approaching its halfway point, the Pirates remain in position to be a contender for a spot at the state tournament from the south. If that does come to fruition, Moapa seems poised to be completely prepared for the top teams from the North, thanks to their variety of tournaments and out of league contests early in the year.
“The Southern league is as a whole not as competitive from top to bottom as the league from up North,” Matheson said. “Our season is hit and miss with playing tough competition. For us, we have to play those out of league tournaments that really push us,”

“Playing three or four of those tough games doesn’t prepare you for playing those Northern teams that have been stretched and challenged all season,” Matheson added.
One of those tough games is almost always against the Eagles of Boulder City. The Pirates have that matchup coming on the road on Wednesday.

Matheson talked about preparing for the game. “Mostly, we’ve been working on playing our game,” she said. “We know what weapons they have. We know what to expect. The thing with Boulder is, we never quite know what they’ll do. How they match up with one team might be different than how they match up against us.”

Last season, the Pirates defeated the Eagles in the regional championship to be crowned as the top of the Southern region. So there will certainly be a little bit of emotion behind the game.
“They have a lot of new young players that are really talented, but I know their returning players will be thinking about that,” Matheson said. “Any time you play a team and you both know you’re vying for first and second place at this point, you remember your past experiences a little bit. We’ve told the girls they need to have confidence in going in there and believing they can win.”