WINNEMUCCA - Since an opening-season loss to Fallon, the Winnemucca Junior High School seventh-grade volleyball team has been unstoppable.
The Warriors increased their winning streak to seven matches, after picking up three Tri-County victories on Saturday in Winnemucca. Winnemucca knocked off Pershing County 25-13 and 25-14, McDermitt 25-18 and 25-20 and Battle Mountain 25-16 and 25-9 to improve to 7-
1 overall and 6-0 in the Tri-County.
"It was a complete team effort today," said WJHS head coach Mary Kay Pace. "I was proud of all the girls. They played as team and that was fun to see. Everyone did something to help us out."
In the opening set against Pershing County, Winnemucca erased a one-point deficit on the strength of a kill by Alyssa Kuskie and an ace by Kepa Bengochea.
With the set tied at 5-5, Kuskie converted two consecutive aces to begin a 12-3 run that put the Warriors up 17-8. Hailey Hinkle had a run of six consecutive aces as the Colts had trouble getting the ball back over the net.
Winnemucca scored the final five points of the set, including the final point when Pershing County hit the ball into the net.
Winnemucca scored the first three points of the second set, aided by kills by Kristen Barnes and Kyllie Sappington. Leading by a point at 5-4, the Warriors began to pull away after a kill and dig by Dany Brown.
Later in the set, Sylvie Prokasky added a kill and Jadyn Eastman an ace to put the Warriors up 15-7. Winnemucca increased its lead to 22-9 after a tip and ace by Sappington. Brown closed out the match with an ace.
Winnemucca trailed for much of the first set against McDermitt, taking its first lead at 17-16 after an ace by Sappington. Sappington added two more aces, forcing the Cougars to take a timeout. It was a switch in momentum as McDermitt led by as many as six points, at 15-9.
Winnemucca went on to score six of the final eight points of the set, finishing on a 16-3 run.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle, with McDermitt leading at 15-14. Winnemucca tied the game at 15 on a hit by Bengochea, which was followed by an ace by Bailey Sapien.
The Warriors led 19-17 late in the set, only to see the Cougars score the next three points to go back in front. It was all Winnemucca from there as a hit by Julia Laird tied the set at 20. Kuskie did the rest as she served out the final five points, which included three aces.
"I love my setters, they are so unselfish and always hustling," added the coach. "We need to work on communication still and we have great servers that come off the bench."
Tailor West helped Winnemucca jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first set against Battle Mountain, including three straight aces to start the match.
The Shorthorns rallied to tie the set at 12-12, only to see the Warriors score the next seven points on the strength of two more aces by West.
Winnemucca led by as many as 10 points at 24-14, before settling for the 25-16 win.
Winnemucca trailed 3-1 in the second set, but that was short-lived as the Warriors tied the set at 7-7 and cruised from there. Tied at 9-9, Prokasky took the serve and did not give it up. She served the next 16 points to close out the match. She had six aces in the run, while Bengochea added a kill.
"What I like about this team is they are not afraid of playing different spots," Pace said. "If I ask them to try something they do it. Our transition on the floor was much better and that is something we worked on in practice."
Winnemucca began Tri-County action in Battle Mountain on Saturday, March 9. The Warriors had little trouble in all three matches, beating the host Shorthorns 25-5 and 25-11, Pershing County 25-22 and 25-17 and McDermitt 25-22 and 25-17.
Winnemucca avenged its opening-season loss to Fallon on Tuesday, March 5, by defeating the Greenwave 24-26, 25-23 and 16-14 on Fallon's home floor.
"We were terrified the first time we played them," Pace said. "That was our first match of the year. The girls got the jitters out of them and played great. Fallon has been a nemesis of ours. We served the ball well and our serve receive and passing was much better."
Winnemucca closes out the season on Friday when it travels to Lovelock for the Tri-County championships. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m.
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