Battle Mountain's Lindsey Bleak passes the ball to a teammate after receiving a Oasis Academy serve on Friday in Battle Mountain.
The Battle Mountain High School volleyball team picked up two wins in four matches over a two-week stretch, with three of those matches against the tougher teams in the Northern 2A.
Battle Mountain traveled to Incline on Aug. 30, and lost in three sets. The Lady Longhorns took the Highlanders to the max in the opening set but lost 26-24. Incline closed out the day, winning the final two sets 25-19 and 25-12.
Senior Stevlana Martinez led the way with five kills and five blocks, with Addison Matheus adding two kills.
Battle Mountain came away with 44 digs off of Incline hitting, including 17 from Lindsey Bleak and 10 by Alexis Rangel. Noel Hill added five digs, Jazmin Johnson four and Martinez three. Johnson had four assists and Alissa Heinz three.
It appeared it was going to be a tough weekend for Battle Mountain, as North Tahoe raced out to a 25-13, 25-15 lead on Saturday, Aug. 31. But in between the second and third sets, BMHS coach Julia Ramirez said they had a quick heart to heart talk.
“The girls battled their way against North Tahoe,” said Ramirez. “We always appreciate the level of play we see on the west side of the state. The lake schools challenge our teams every match up and demand the best defense we have. Three league games in a row are mentally and physically demanding, but the girls proved themselves and showed their willingness to keep working and have fun while doing it. We look forward to seeing these teams again this season.” The Lady Longhorns rallied to win the final three sets 25-21, 25-23 and 17-15.
Matinez and Matheus paced Battle Mountain with four and three kills, respectively. Emillie Johnson and Bleak each had two kills. Johnson added three aces and bleak had 24 digs. Heinz finished with a team high eight assists.
Battle Mountain was back home this past Friday and swept Oasis Academy 25-17, 25-13, 25-16. The Lady Longhorns found their hitting groove with 21 kills, including five each from Matinez and Johnson. Halie Edgar added four kills, Matheus three and Tahlia Gonzalez and Hill two each. The Lady Longhorns had 17 aces on the night, four from Hill and three by Andrea Alcaraz-Lopez. Johnson (9) and Heinz (7) led Battle Mountain in assists.
Battle Mountain finished the weekend with a 25-8, 25-18, 27-25 loss to Yerington on Saturday.
Matheus had three kills, Gonzalez and Martinez two each and Martinez had five blocks. Hienz finished with seven assists.
“Yerington has a strong program that I always give the utmost respect to,” added the coach. “It’s great to see the type of offense they run so we can learn and make adjustments As we move forward, we are working at bringing energy and confidence at practice into our league games.”
Battle Mountain hosts Silver Stage on Friday at 5 p.m. and Sierra Lutheran on Saturday at noon.