Pahrump Valley sports roundup: Girls soccer ties, volleyball cruises

For all the success the Pahrump Valley High School girls soccer team has had in recent years, coach Julie Carrington thinks they might have had a little more if the games ended earlier.

The latest example came Tuesday, when the Trojans had the better of play for most of the game but were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie against Virgin Valley at Trojan Field.

“We totally dominated,” Carrington said Wednesday after watching her junior varsity tangle with Doral Academy in Las Vegas. “We dominated the field most of the time. It was another late goal, and that’s what we’ve got to work on. That gets us every time. Our positioning gets off toward the end because they’re getting tired, and they’re making quick decisions instead of thinking ahead.

“We just need to work on the ending of the games.”

The tying goal came in the last 5 minutes, as Virgin Valley’s Rainee Brito netted the equalizer with an assist from Adison Snyder for the undefeated Bulldogs (4-0-1).

Carrington cited a lack of communication on the defensive line as one of the reasons for the tying goal, but before that she said the Trojans were in control.

“I think our keeper had 3 saves until the last few minutes,” she said.

During the first half, when the wind was with the Trojans, Carrington said her team should have done a better job of playing the wind. Cashing in on scoring chances was another issue.

“I would have to say there were about five missed opportunities,” she said. “The goal that we did get was on a good cross.”

Kaylee Mendoza scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season to give the Trojans (5-1-3) a 1-0 lead, with the assist going to Adryanna Avena-Caraballo, the team’s second-leading scorer with 12 points on 5 goals and 2 assists. But there were other solid crosses that did not end with the ball in the net.

“Our crosses were good, but we were open and they should have just cut into the goal,” Carrington said. “We didn’t play as well with the wind as we should have.”

Then, as the game wound down, Virgin Valley started to find slight cracks in the Trojans defense.

“Our girls weren’t getting back as fast,” Carrington said. “We couldn’t hold them in the midfield.”

But in the end they tied a team that had won its first four games by a combined score of 23-1, albeit against weak competition. Carrington said the teams have played competitive games in the past, with the teams trading 1-0 wins over the past two years.

The Trojans next will take on Class 4A Green Valley at 3 p.m. today in Henderson. They have one more nonleague game at 3 p.m. Wednesday at home against Somerset-Sky Pointe before opening Sunset League play Sept. 24 at Valley.

Trojans volleyball routs Blue Knights

In the school’s first year in Class 3A, Democracy Prep was no match for anyone in the Sunset League in girls volleyball. That was especially true against Pahrump Valley, as the Blue Knights were held to single digits in points in four of the six sets played as the Trojans recorded two easy sweeps.

The pattern didn’t quite hold Wednesday night, but it was close, as the Trojans overwhelmed the Blue Knights 25-5, 25-11, 25-11 in Pahrump.

Nicky Velazquez recorded 6 kills for the Trojans, who opened Sunset League play with a victory for the fourth consecutive season.

Pahrump Valley’s next match is 6 p.m. Tuesday at Del Sol, with the next home match two days later against Mojave, the only team in the league to defeat the Trojans last season.