With a 3-1 loss at home on Senior Night to Boulder City on Wednesday, April 29, the Moapa Valley High School boys volleyball team will enter the Desert League regional playoffs as the third seed and face sixth-seeded Doral Academy Red Rock on Tuesday, May 5.

The Pirates gave the top-seeded Eagles a bit of a scare by winning set one 28-26, but Boulder City put the screws to the Pirates in sets two and three, winning 25-14 and 25-15.

MVHS senior Caden Rawson had nine kills to lead the Pirates, and classmates Tag Jensen and Tristan Landini each had eight while posting 44.4% kill rates. Jensen also had three solo blocks, and Spencer Stolworthy delivered 37 of the team’s 38 assists. 

Boulder City returned serve really well, committing just three errors in 49 attempts. The Eagles also served effectively, scoring 10 aces and hitting just eight errors in 100 attempts. Moapa Valley didn’t serve to its high standards, with 17 errors in 77 attempts. The Pirates will have to improve on serve in order to earn another shot at the Eagles.

“I think last time we served well against Doral and kept them out of system for the most part. We also passed pretty well, which allowed us to run our offense, but playoffs are a different animal, especially with single elimination,” MVHS head coach Shaun Muaina explained. “Doral will most likely come out with more determination, so we’ll have to bring energy and focus on every point to have the same result as last time.”

The Pirates beat the Dragons in straight sets roughly a month ago. They served at 83.3% and had just two return errors in 41 attempts. The rematch takes place at MVHS on Tuesday, May 5 at 6 p.m.