Lady Pirates Fall To B.C. In Final State Match

By DAVE BELCHER

The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Volleyball team played in the Nevadas 3A State Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 12 and were beaten 3-1 by Boulder City.

The Eagles came into the match having won every set of every match against every 3A opponent this year. Though they won the state championship, that perfect winning streak was broken by the Lady Pirates in the second set of the state final.

Moapa Valley played their best games of the season on Saturday, a testament to the hard work that the Pirate players and coaches put in this year.

In the first set, the Pirates needed just one point to win, having a 24-23 lead. But then Boulder City rattled off three straight points to win the fist game 26-24.

But the Pirates didn’t give up. They came back and beat the Eagles 25-18 in the second set.
That appeared to wake the Eagles up as they won 25-18 in game three then 25-12 to win the state title.
“We have drilled into our players all year long that we play best when we put our Pirate pressure on the other team and go at the other team smart and aggressively,” said head coach Mandie Matheson. “Their efforts all season long to push and improve shined through and we were very grateful for the opportunity to play in the postseason and for the title. I was proud of our girls for executing our game plan and playing their hearts out. They played with confidence and with great strength both matched at the tournament. Thank you to all that supported us!”

On Friday, Nov. 11, the Pirates went up against Dayton, the top seed for the north, in the semi-final round of the state tournament. The Moapa team beat Dayton in three straight games, 25-15, 25-12 and 25-18.

The Pirates finished their season 25-11 overall and 11-0 in league play.