The Moapa Valley High School boys volleyball team qualified for its first 3A State Championship game with a 3-1 win over Coral Academy in Henderson on Thursday, May 7. The Pirates rolled to a 25-16 win in set one before dropping set two 25-21. They handled the pressure points in the next two sets to finish off the Falcons 25-19 and 25-18.

“[D]efinitely exciting to get there, but we have our sights set on finishing the job,” said MVHS head coach Shaun Muaina. “For the Coral game, I felt like we played an emotionally stable game throughout. Even in the second set, we got down early but didn’t shut down and continued to battle back and almost came all the way back. But the three sets we won, we consistently kept our focus and attitude up the whole game. When we do that, we are tough to beat.”

Senior Caden Rawson led the Pirates with 16 kills and 11 service receptions without an error. Sophomore Kai Muaina added 12 kills on a 75% kill rate and scored five aces. Senior Tag Jensen had 11 kills, 11 digs and two blocks, and classmate Spencer Stolworthy delivered 40 of the team’s 43 assists.

Moapa Valley destroyed Doral Academy Red Rock 25-21, 25-17, and 25-10 on Tuesday, May 5, to make the regional semifinal. Rawson had 12 kills, six aces and two blocks against the Dragons. Muaina added 11 kills, four aces and 13 service receptions without an error. 

The Pirates’ ship sets sail for Sunrise Mountain on Wednesday for the 3A State Championship Game against top-seeded Boulder City, who ended Virgin Valley’s season with a 3-0 victory in the semifinals. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.