VV Volleyball beats Pirates to secure #1 seed

By LAURA ROBISON

The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School volleyball team faced off against their Virgin Valley High School rivals at home on Monday, April 29 in their last regular season game which was also seniors night for the Pirates.

At stake was the placing of each team for the playoffs. The Bulldogs were tied with Valley High School for the #1 seed, while the Pirates sat at #3 in the 3A Desert league.
Although the Bulldogs won the match in three sets, the Pirates did not make it easy.

The Moapa team took a while to get in the groove. The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity They served first and were ahead throughout the game, ending the set with a win 25-16.
The second set saw the Pirates making more mistakes. The Bulldogs continued strong play and won with a final tally of 25-14.

The Pirates came out for set three ready to make it count. With a lot of good play on both sides, the Bulldogs pulled ahead and won the set 25-19.

On the Pirate side, Caden Rawson had the most return serves with 21; Jimmy Ward led the team with 10 digs and 25 assists; and Mateo Bradshaw had 10 kills on the night.

The Bulldogs saw Destry Tobler make 10 kills in the match, with Reece Leavitt and McKay Mulitalo at 8 each. Andrew Muniz tallied 11 digs. Nate Panjaitan had 29 assists.
“I am very pleased with the win tonight,” said VVHS head coach Kortney Tobler. “Our boys are peaking at the right time, and our setter did a great job.”

MVHS head coach Tiffany Frederick said that her team needed work on its focus. “Mentality is everything, and when the opposing team gets in their heads, it’s hard for our boys to recover,” she said.

Pirate seniors recognized that night included Aiden Leavitt, David Walker, Jimmy Ward, Kael Freeman, and Kayden Dixon.

The Bulldogs are now the #1 seed in the league. The Bulldogs begin the regional tournament playing Western on Tuesday, May 7 in the Bulldog Gym at 6 pm.

MVHS ends the regular season in the #3 seed. The Pirates have a 10-4 record in league play. They will face off against Coral Academy in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7 at 6 pm.