A week after dropping all five of it matches at the White Pine tournament in Ely, the Battle Mountain High School volleyball team switched some things up for its home debut this past weekend.
The Lady Longhorns hosted their annual tournament and picked up five wins to even their record at 5-5, as they get ready for Northern 2A play.
“Last weekend in Ely, we were faced with some tough teams in our pool,” said BMHS coach Julia Ramirez. “The girls went 0-5 with one set win against Lincoln County. I’m grateful that we got to see the competition from the south. The girls quickly learned how to work with each other and grew as a team with each set. Fortunately, with that one small victory they figured out everything works better when they have their energy up, communicate at all times, and just be happy on the court.”
With the new mindset, Battle Mountain knocked off Lund 25-18 and 25-15 and Beatty 25-10 and 25-10 on Friday.
Against Lund, Cristina Holley, Lauryn Avey and Shea Jones each had three kills. Lilliana Haney also had a kill.
The Lady Longhorns collected 11 aces in the match, with five from Avey and four from Jones.
In the victory over Beatty, Olivia Lemaire had a pair of kills and Avey and Jones each had five aces. Heidy Amezcua had four aces and Haney two.
Battle Mountain picked up three more wins on Saturday, starting with a 25-18 and 25-23 win over White Pine.
Holley and Lemaire each had two kills, while Galileah Benavides and Jones had one kill apiece. Jones had four of the Lady Longhorns’ six aces.
Battle Mountain collected a three-set win over West Wendover, losing the first set 25-22, but bouncing back in the final two 25-24 and 15-11.
The Lady Longhorns trailed 24-23 in the second set, but the Wolverines served the ball into the net on the set-winning point and the Lady Longhorns won on the next point. Battle Mountain held on for the win in the third set.
Holley and Avey finished with three kills apiece and Haney and Jones had one each. Avey had three aces and Jones two.
Battle Mountain closed out the tournament with Wendover, Utah.
The Wildcats claimed the opening set 25-18, but the Lady Longhorns came back to win the final two, 25-23 and 15-13.
“With their new game plan, the girls went 5-0 in our Longhorn Invitational,” added the coach. “I couldn’t be any prouder as their coach. I’m very lucky to have an experienced team that includes six seniors with their own unique skill sets.”
Battle Mountain travels to White Pine on Friday for a 5 p.m. start.
The Lady Longhorns begin Northern 2A with road trips to Incline on Sept. 9, and North Tahoe on Sept. 10.
