Sometimes a loss feels more like a win. Last Friday the Pershing County High School volleyball team lost to Yerington in four sets 13-25, 25-13, 20-25, 22-25.
"It was the best played match I have seen from my Mustang team in a couple of years. They played with heart and purpose. I hate losing, but I love losing when we play like that," Monica Halverson said.
The home crowd in the PCHS gym agreed. They sat spellbound by the scrappiness of the Lovelock girls. If a player made a mistake they let it go and focused on the next serve.
"They didn't allow the ball to drop. Yerington is tough but I think if we'd had a better first set we would have taken them to five," Halverson added.
On Saturday, the Mustangs traveled to Silver Springs to play the Nighthawks.
They beat their hosts in three sets 25-18, 25-19, 25-19.
In the first set the Mustangs led off with Taylor Garland playing libero. Kaydance Happy and Raegan Burrows were outside hitters while Aaliyah Allen and Yasmine Mckinney handled the middle. The setters were Kaylen Halverson and Anna Happy.
"We were on fire. I decided to go to our second lineup to give some players the opportunity to play in different positions," Halverson said.
The switch created a change in tempo. The girls struggled to maintain their momentum and missed some serves in the third set. Halverson noticed a drop in the team's energy level and communication.
However, there's a lesson to be learned from every game, win or lose.
"We pulled out the win. I hope the girls learned that, even when we struggle to play as a team, we can always work harder to be better," Halverson said.
Taylor Garland and Raegan Burrows led the attack with eight kills each. Garland added three ace serves and 11 digs.
Burrows had two assists and 12 digs. Kaydance Happy had five kills, one ace and 12 digs.
This Friday, Pershing County plays Coral Academy at the Silver State Volleyball facility in Reno.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the Mustangs host North Tahoe at 11 a.m., with the JV and varsity at noon.
