Trojan and Hornet spikers ready to hit the court

The Pahrump Valley and Beatty high volleyball teams had a combined summer volleyball camp at PVHS. The camp was organized and run by Dixie State Head Coach Robyn Felder who does camps throughout the state and this was her fourth year doing this.

The camp started on Tuesday and ended on Thursday.

Felder said she enjoys giving high school programs a boost.

"I love promoting the game of volleyball and teaching good technique and fundamentals to the young girls in high school programs," she said. "It's exciting to bring new techniques and energy to these teams and get them ready for the season."

Trojans coach Jill Harris said she is hoping to start where they left off last year and improve even more. Last year the team finished 8-6 in the Sunset League Division I-A in fourth place and 15-18 overall.

"We are coming back this year with a strong group of girls and I am excited to start the year," she said. "We just have more experience this year and we should finish near the top."

The program lost four seniors to graduation, but returns with the following eight strong veterans: Koral Hearn, Andi Bishop, Lauren Ashford, Lauren Koenig, Jill Smith, Samantha Padilla, Alexis Trieb and Bethany Calvert.

This was the second camp of the summer for the Lady Trojans. The girls attended a University of Nevada, Las Vegas camp earlier in the month where eight girls from the team played teams such as Arbor View, Foothill, Bishop Gorman and Centennial.

Harris said she wishes all her girls had gone to that camp, but because many girls were on vacation she was thankful for those that made the effort.

The Trojans have three seniors returning, Ashford, Koenig and Padilla. Ashford will be the returning Libero, which is a defensive specialist. Koenig will be a main hitter and blocker for the team and Padilla will be a backup setter.

Smith will be relied on to do the setting and Trieb will be tasked as major hitter along with Koenig and Smith.

When asked who was the best server on the team, Harris replied, "They all serve well," she said. "I think I have eight good servers in this group."

The Trojans' first home game is scheduled for Sept.18 against Spring Valley, but the Trojans should have a tournament before that, the Las Vegas Invitational, which is scheduled for Sept. 4-5 in Las Vegas.

Beatty

The Beatty volleyball team returns this year with a new coach, Steve Sullivan, who coached the team in 2012.

Sullivan said all six of his starters are back.

Under Dale Lerbakken, who retired, the Hornets finished 11-5 overall and 7-3 in Division IV Southern League in third place. Lerbakken led the Hornets to state last year.

Sullivan feels the team should be able to return to state this year with a little refining.

"We are talented, raw and scrappy," Sullivan said. "I will be implementing a new 5-1 offense and so the girls will have to get used to moving around. I plan on just working on the little things to make them better."

Sullivan said his two top servers are Alexia Gil and Claudia Granados. He also likes Maggie Cathcart's consistency. For blockers he likes Gil, Granados and Bridget Viera.

As far as teams to beat this year, Sullivan is keeping an eye on Sandy Valley who is seeking revenge because last year Beatty knocked them out of the playoffs. He said the team should be able to knock out Tonopah and he likes Round Mountain because they have a young team.

Beatty will play its first home game against Trona, California on Sept. 1.