By BOB SNELL
The Progress
Trailing 14-9 in the fifth and final game, and facing match point, there was no sign of panic among the Virgin Valley High School Volleyball team. The Lady Bulldogs took a deep breath, figuratively and literally, and went back on the court where they reeled off seven consecutive points to win the game 16-14.
The result gave Virgin Valley a 3-2 victory over visiting Pinecrest Academy-Cadence of Las Vegas Wednesday night inside the VVHS gym.
The 24-26, 26-24, 25-14, 22-25, 16-14 win improved the Lady Bulldogs to 4-2 in 3A Southern Conference play and evened their overall record at 7-7.
“We have a team with several girls who have played a lot of volleyball,” VVHS head coach Robert Nelson said. “Our maturity won that match for us.”
Staring match point in the face against the scrappy Cougars, senior Evia Toone stepped up to the serving line and served seven consecutive points.
Senior Riley Price recorded two kills and junior Reggi Frei had one as Virgin Valley pulled even at 14-all.
Following a Cadence time out, the Lady Bulldogs closed out the match with a long return by the Cougars and Price’s 22nd kill of the night.
“Our girls didn’t panic,” Nelson said. “They knew what to do and went out and did it.”
The Lady Bulldogs had many heroes on the night.
Junior Sara Murri had a monster game with 23 assists, 12 service aces and 15 digs while sophomore Sweden Smith had nine kills to go along with 14 digs.
Frei recorded 15 digs and nine kills while Price and Toone also had 15 digs. Senior Marian Leavitt added 12 assists and senior Kinzley Lee chipped in with 10 digs.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 advantage in the first game before Cadence came storming back to take the win.
Virgin Valley grabbed an early lead in the second game only to see the Cougars come back and take a 22-19 lead. Price had two kills, and Smith one, to spark a comeback for the Lady Bulldogs which cumulated with Leavitt’s kill on game point.
Game three was all Virgin Valley. Smith got things going with a kill and block as VVHS got out to a 12-7 advantage and slowly pulled away for the win.
In the fifth and decisive game, Cadence quickly took an 8-3 lead and appeared to be home free as it extended its advantage to 14-9 at match point.
The Lady Bulldogs, however, were not finished.
The win came just two days after Virgin Valley suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of SLAM Nevada in Las Vegas. SLAM won by scores of 25-8, 25-14, 24-26 and 25-20.
Virgin Valley will host Coral Academy of Science from Las Vegas on Tuesday, Sept. 20; and Eldorado of Las Vegas on Thursday. Both matches will be at 6 p.m. in the VVHS gym.
