MVHS Volleyball Ends First Season

By NICK YAMASHITA

The Progress

The Pirates Boy’s Volleyball played regional tournament play this week. They were seeded 8th in the Southern Regional Tournament.

The Pirates took on 9th seed Pinecrest Academy Cadence from Henderson on Tuesday, May 18 in the MVHS Gym. The Pirates were able to claim victory 3-0 winning the first set decisively and the other two in close competition. Set scores were 25-9, 25-19, 25-23.

The offensive strike was led by the unsurpassed play by sophomore Joseph Whitmore who rained kill after kill with canon-shots of attacks for a total of 13 kills, more than double that of anyone else on the team.

Trent Nelson and Max Fellers added serving power with Nelson getting 4 aces and Fellers landing 3. The team looked impressive with 26 kills, 15 aces, and 26 assists for the offense.
Defensively they had 48 digs, but only 1 block.

In the next round, the Pirates moved on to meet the #1 seed, the undefeated Boulder City Eagles.
On Thursday, May 20, the Pirates visited the Eagle’s nest. Unfortunately they were not able to find the golden egg that would lift them over Boulder City.

The Eagles swooped in and took over from the start, claiming victory in three straight sets over the inaugural Pirate team. Set scores were 7-25, 9-25, and 15-25.

The Pirates only had 4 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 18 digs, and 2 assists in the match compared to the Eagles’ 34 kills, 19 aces, 4 blocks, 17 digs, and 32 assists.

The Pirates ended their historic first season with a 3-8 overall record and 0-6 3-A Desert League record.
Some highlights and positive things to look forward to next season is the return of all but two members of the team. That includes the return of offensive leaders like Joseph Whitmore, Trent Nelson, and Cole Neilson, as well as returns of their assist and defensive leader Max Fellers.

Boulder City went on to beat Chaparral, Doral Academy Red Rock, and Sunrise Mountain by scores of 3-0 to claim the 2021 Southern State Regional Title and end the season with an undefeated record: 13-0 overall and 6-0 in 3-A Desert League play.