Last week, the Pershing County High School volleyball team won both road matches on its only overnight road trip of the year.
First, the Mustangs beat their rival school, Battle Mountain 25-15, 25-14, 25-23.
Next, Pershing County vanquished the West Wendover Wolverines 25-13, 25-20, 25-16.
The Mustangs stand at the top of the Northern 2A at 17-0 and have clinched the first-place position going into the Northern 2A Regional Championships at Incline High School on Nov. 1-2.
Pershing County celebrates after winning a point.
Coach Monica Halverson says the Mustangs took the first two sets against Battle Mountain fairly easily with stellar teamwork and tough serves.
However, she added that the squad lost some of their focus in the third set.
The Longhorns responded by getting kills and stepping up their defense.
“Battle Mountain is always fun to play because they never give up and play each point,” she said. “One thing I can say about my team is they know how to support each other through any obstacle and how to close a game.”
The Mustangs pulled together and sealed the win.
Raegan Burrows had two aces, 18 kills and 35 digs. Arya Garland added two aces, a back row attack and 36 digs.
Pershing County’s Kyra Cerini tips the ball over the net during Friday’s road match at Battle Mountain.
Mia Canchola had 16 assists, leading for the Mustangs. Aaliyah Allen shined on defense with 18 digs off the right side of the court, an ace and a kill.
Khloe Montes had an ace, seven kills and 17 digs. Kyra Cerini added an ace, six kills and four digs. Jaymie George contributed 14 assists and 4 digs.
Last season’s overnight trip ended in a 0-3 loss to West Wendover, a debacle the Mustangs did not want to repeat.
“It was a huge upset, so we weren’t going to let that happen again,” said Halverson.
“The Wolverines are scrappy and dug a lot of the balls that we were putting over the net. We had to change up the momentum and play smarter, not harder. This meant we did more roll shots, off speed hits and tips. It worked out well.”
Emma Blondheim had eight digs. Kenya Vaughan had two. Laura Gomez added three more.
Burrows had two aces, 20 kills, an assist and 21 digs. Garland had four massive back row attacks and 34 digs.
The Mustangs host Coral Academy on Thursday, for their last match of the regular season.