Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to high school sports, especially these days.
Last Friday the Mustangs traveled to Fernley for their first full match of the 2021-22 season.
Unfortunately, they were minus Kaylen Halverson due to an illness.
Raegan Burrows and Bela Rosas stepped up as setters and according to coach Monica Halverson, they did a good job controlling the game.
Raegan Burrows added seven assists and two kills. Rosas collected seven assists and two digs.
“Passing from Taylor Garland, Aledda Sam, Presley Burrows, Kaydance Happy and Andrea Canchola was better than I have seen this season,” said the coach.
Garland contributed four kills and four digs. Sam added four aces, three kills and eight digs.
Presley Burrows racked up 11 kills an ace serve and four digs. Canchola, the libero, had a dig. Happy added three aces, a block and one kill.
The Mustangs walked into the gym fresh from their success at the Battle Mountain tournament.
They were the runners-up in the tourney, playing teams they would not normally see in league play.
Fernley was also a crossover game. The Vaqueros play in the Northern 3A.
“Talking in the huddle, I expressed the importance of playing teams up in league and size because it pushes us to get better and faster on our feet,” said Halverson.
Although the Mustangs lost, they came home in high spirits and ready for their next competition.
The scores were 13-25, 25-20, 20-25, 22-25. The Mustangs came out on top in the second set. The other three were close, but the Vaqueros seized the wins and the match.
“We know that in order to win games our serving and passing have to be on point,” said Halverson. She chalked the loss of the first set up to lack of communication and footwork. “We came back swinging in the second game and it felt good to get that set win,” she said.
In the third and fourth sets the Mustangs made some dramatic plays and saves but trailed on the scoreboard.
“Our serve-receive in the last set to a talented server from Fernley High School sealed our loss,” said the coach.
JV volleyball
plays hard
JV lost to Fernley in two sets 25-13, 25-19. According to coach Nancy Meissner, the Mustangs set the ball up and attacked well. The stats back up her assessment.
The top hitters were Aaliyah Allen, Yasmine McKinney and Mady Grenz. Allen had three hitting kills and one tip kill. McKinney added two kills. Grenz threw in another.
However, the Mustangs struggled to keep the ball in bounds against Fernley.
“The girls played hard,” said Meissner. “We just need to clean up our play a bit.”
Upcoming games
On Friday, the volleyball force travels to Virginia City for a crossover game against the 1A school.
The next day the Mustangs go to Silver Stage High School for their first league match.
They’ll play their first home game on Wednesday, Sept. 15, against Incline. A couple of days later, on Friday, Sept. 17, they’ll host Incline. JV opens both games at 4 p.m., and the varsity follows at 5 p.m.
