Pahrump Valley High School Girls Volleyball

The boisterous student section stuck around long enough to storm the court in celebration of the Lady Trojans’ volleyball come-from-behind league victory against rival Boulder City High School Monday evening.

Coming off a grueling weekend of competition in the Vegas Classic tournament, legs were not as fresh as head coach Amber Lugo had hoped for.

After dropping the first two sets 25–18 and 25–22 due to communication breakdowns and early-match jitters, it was shaping up to be an all-too-familiar scene.

But that would only be the beginning of what the Eagles thought would be an easy, away league victory.

Behind a 9–1 opening run to begin the third set, the Trojans clawed their way back into the match, eventually taking the set win 27–25 after fending off a late Eagles surge that had the set tied at 25.

“We’ve just been working on trusting in each other and the system that we’re running,” Lugo said post-game. “I gave them very specific objectives and they came out and they did it, so that’s a huge growth for us.”

Offensively, in their first home game, the Trojans were led by junior outside/right-side hitter Xe’ane Kamanu, who posted a team-high 13 kills. Senior multi-position hitter Heavenly Ware added 11 kills in a balanced attack that kept Boulder City on its heels during the final three sets.

Serving proved crucial in the comeback, as the Trojans logged a 94.3% serving percentage on the night. Trojans sophomores Sedona Norton and Miani Freitas-Faamai, alongside junior Xe’ane Kamanu contributed three serving aces. Juniors Riley Saldana and senior Nala Dalton followed close behind with two apiece.

“The resiliency to be able to bounce back is what we’ve been looking for and we found it tonight,” Lugo said. “Key players were able to step up and really get in there and do what I know they can do. We’ve been chasing confidence, and so it was nice to see them get out there and just play confidently.”

Defensively, the Trojans combined for 110 digs. Libero Norton anchored the back row with a team-high 24 digs as the Trojans were led by Norton (24), Ware (17), Saldana (16) and Kamanu (15).

The defense held strong as the Eagles and Trojans exchanged multiple long rallies that had the crowd captivated with every return.

“I think the middles really did a good job but not any more than anybody else,” Lugo said. “Sedona was nails on servers. She had a great match and is really starting to understand exactly where to be.”

Closing out the fifth set, the Trojans established a three-point lead that would carry over into a five-point victory, defeating the Eagles 15-10.

Before the team could turn around to celebrate, the court was flooded with a proud student section that never gave up hope on their girls.

“I love a good rivalry, and I know that this has been a rivalry for a long time,” Lugo said. “For [the crowd] to stay after the first two sets said a lot. They could have cleared the stands and gone home but they stayed with us.”

Virgin Valley

The Trojans volleyball team traveled to Virgin Valley on Wednesday night but ultimately came up short, losing 3-0 in their second league game of the season.

On the year, the Trojans’ record moves to 4-10 overall (1-1 3A Southern League) after their two-game win streak was broken.

The Trojans will host the Democracy Prep Blue Knights next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at home in the Pahrump Valley High School gymnasium.

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.