MVHS Loses Tough Match At State Tournament

By NICK YAMASHITA

The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Lady Pirates traveled to Reno last weekend to participate in the State Championship tournament there.

The Pirates, sitting at the #1 seed in the south, were scheduled to go up against the Fernley Vaqueros, the #2 seed in the north, in the semifinal round. Even though the Pirates were favored in this match, it was not to be a day to fly the skull and crossbones.

Fernley fell behind quickly at the beginning. But the Vaquerosfought back and pulled off an upset, coming from behind to claim victory against the Pirates. The final score was 3 sets to 2.
This dropped the Pirate team out of contention for the State Championship.

“Unfortunately, we did not play our best game,” said MVHS Head Coach Mandie Matheson. “The girls had energy and fought hard, but had too many errors on our side to complete the victory.”

The Pirates came out strong and energetic and were able to win a close first set and then dominate in the second set going up two sets. The first set score was 25-23 and then the second set was 25-15.
Sydney Reese played exceptionally well all night offensively while Terra Evans helped on defense to claim the first two sets.

But in the third set, things began to unravel for the Pirates. The Fernley team got a huge boost from their huge crowd of fans. Luck as also bouncing in their favor.

The Pirates continued putting on some pressure with tough serving, but the offensive and defensive play started to struggle with key errors committed by the Blue and Gold. Vaqueros claimed the third set 25-18.

In the fourth set, the Lady Pirates began sailing again and fought hard to finish the match. But the Vaqueros would not lie down, completing several key offensive plays that resulted in Fernley winning with a score of 25-21. That tied the match.

The fifth set came down to a “do or die” situation. It started off well for the Pirates. But again the Vaqueros didn’t give any ground. In the end, though, the ship of the Pirates was sunk as the Vaqueros pulled out the upset victory 15-12.

The Vaqueros advanced to the State Championship game while the Pirates were forced to sail back home.

“The girls have had an amazing season,” Matheson said. “They have built a culture of inclusion and fun. I am proud of them for staying true to their team concept and showing honesty in calling a few touches that had gone unnoticed by the referees.”

For the match, Sydney Reese had a great night with 26 kills for the match. Reese has stuffed down 305 kills for the season.

Talley Blackwell had 10 kills with 3 aces in the match. Blackwell has 54 blocks for the season.
Emily Matheson added 6 aces with 42 assists in the match. Matheson ended the season with at total of 602 assists.

Terra Evans led the team with strong defensive play ending up with with 234 digs for the season.
After pulling off the upset, Fernley went on to play Truckee, the #1 seed from the north.

Truckee had beat Boulder City, the #2 seed in the south, in the semifinals in three sets with scores of 30-28, 25-11, 13-25, and 28-26.

It was a powerful performance from Truckee in the final matchup, as the Wolverines slashed through the Vaqueros winning the NIAA State Championship in 4 sets. The final set scores were 25-16, 25-11, 8-25, and 25-19 to end the season with a 23-4 record and the title of best in Nevada.

“I am heartbroken for our team for falling short of their ultimate goal,” Matheson said. “But I am so incredibly proud of the success they have had as a team going 30-4 for the season and earning the Region title.

“I want to personally thank our parents, the community, the Boosters, and our student section,” Matheson concluded. “We have been so blessed with so much support this season and it has been amazing!”