Pirate volleyball guts out first league win at VV

After two hours of intense back-and-forth play, it came down to an unforced error on the final point of the night that decided an epic boys volleyball match between rivals Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley Tuesday, March 31, in Mesquite.

“I told my boys that in rivalry games sometimes strategy and planning goes out the window, and it just comes down to grit and effort, which my boys had a ton of. And frankly, so did Virgin,” said Moapa Valley head coach Shaun Muaina. “That was just a fun game and both teams played extremely hard. We were fortunate to come out on top.”

An unforced error committed by Virgin Valley on a service return clinched a 3-2 win for Moapa Valley in the 3A Desert League contest. The win gives the Pirates a 1-0 record in league play and improves their overall mark to 10-11. The Bulldogs dropped to 1-1 in league and 6-14 overall.

After the Pirates took the first set 25-23, the Bulldogs rebounded to win the second set 25-19. Moapa Valley won the third set 25-20 and were at match point in the fourth, leading 24-23, but Virgin Valley refused to give in and battled back to take the final three points to win 26-24, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

A kill from Parker Jensen and a block by Alonzo Roque helped stake the Bulldogs to an early 6-3 advantage in the final set. The Pirates rallied back to pull even at 7-7, with neither side leading by more than a point the rest of the way until the final sequence.

After Kai Muaina’s kill put the Pirates up 13-12, Jensen responded with a kill to knot the set at 13-13. The Pirates would go on to capture the final two points to end the match.

“That was a great match, but it was a bummer ending for us,” VVHS head coach Kortney Tobler said. “I really liked how we battled and wouldn’t quit. It was a gutty performance by our boys.”

With the score tied 16-16 in the third set, the Pirates got consecutive kills from Caleb Rawson, Jaxson Bunker, Tag Jensen and Muaina to grab a 20-16 lead that would propel them to a 25-20 win.

Moapa Valley was in control of the fourth set leading 19-15, but Virgin Valley was not done. Aiden Muniz served an ace followed by kills from Dagen Memmott and Conrad Denninghoff that pulled the Bulldogs even at 20-20.

Tag Jensen’s kill put the Pirates up 24-23 and serving for match point. Parker Jensen responded with consecutive kills for the Bulldogs that put Virgin Valley up 25-24 and serving for set point. Roque closed out the set with a service ace, sending the match to a winner-take-all fifth set.

“We are improving, and that’s the key for us the rest of the season,” Tobler said. “We’re getting more confident as we go. I was happy with how we competed against a really good Moapa team. Even though we didn’t win, overall I was pleased.”

Parker Jensen had an outstanding night for the Bulldogs with 20 kills, 10 digs and five service aces. Memmott added 15 kills for Virgin Valley while Dallen Moeai had 29 assists, with Roque notching 13 assists and Muniz 22 digs.

Muaina led the Pirates with 20 kills and 21 digs, while Spencer Stolworthy recorded 43 assists to go along with 19 digs and Tag Jensen had nine kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Rawson added 17 kills and 15 digs for Moapa Valley, with Keynon May recording 21 digs and Bunker 15.

Virgin Valley will travel to Las Vegas to face The Meadows School Tuesday and then will host back-to-back home matches against Desert Hills (St. George, Utah) Wednesday at 6 p.m. and American Heritage Academy of Las Vegas Thursday at 6 p.m.