By BOB SNELL
The Progress
It was a big week for the Virgin Valley High School boys volleyball program.
The Bulldogs went on the road on Tuesday, April 2 and swept Valley of Las Vegas, 3-0. Then they hosted Founders Classical Academy of Las Vegas on Friday and shut down 3-0, at home on Friday night. This put the team into the top spot in the 3A South Desert League.
Virgin Valley did fall at home to a powerhouse Boulder City squad, 3-0, on Wednesday night but that had no effect on the league standings.
The Bulldogs are now tied with Valley for first place at 8-1, but Virgin Valley (9-8) owns the tiebreaker over the Vikings.
“I’m just really proud of these boys,” VVHS head coach Kortney Tobler said. “Valley was a must win for us and the boys showed up and fought hard.”
The Bulldogs fell behind Valley 18-11 in the first game before rallying to outscore the Vikings 14-5 to pull out a 25-23 win.
The momentum carried over as Virgin Valley captured game two 25-18 and then completed the sweep by taking game three 25-22.
“We had to fight for every point,” Tobler said. “That was a crucial win for us.”
McKay Mulitalo powered the Bulldogs with 10 kills and 13 digs while Nate Panjaitan recorded 29 assists. Reece Leavitt had nine kills with Aiden Muniz adding 13 digs and Destry Tobler nine digs.
The Bulldogs returned home to host an ultra-talented Boulder City team on Wednesday at the VVHS gym. The Eagles, who are undefeated against 3A competition, swept the Bulldogs by scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-18.
“It’s good to play teams like Boulder City to show what we need to do to get better,” Tobler said. “We came out a little nervous, but we played hard. The Boulder coaches told us afterward that we were one of the better 3A teams they’ve played. We’re still a young team and inexperienced. One thing we need to learn is to get mentally tougher.”
Virgin Valley rebounded from the Boulder City setback to sweep visiting Founders Classical Academy of Las Vegas on Friday by scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-15.
Nate Panjaitan with 33 assists and Destry Tobler with 16 kills led the way for the Bulldogs. Aiden Muniz had 10 digs while Andrew Muniz had eight.
The Bulldogs will play Pinecrest Academy Cadence in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
