Jill Harris is as much of a straight shooter as any high school coach, so if the Pahrump Valley High School girls volleyball coach is pleased with her team after a 3-0 loss, you know the Trojans played well.
That was the case Monday evening against Faith Lutheran, when the Crusaders fought off the spirited Trojans in the first set and went on to a 25-20, 25-11, 25-14 victory in Las Vegas.
“I think we let up just a little bit,” Harris said. “But the kids never hung their heads. This is the best they played all season.”
Against the Crusaders, who have not lost a set in getting off to a 4-0 start, the Trojans worked. And worked. And worked some more, at times frustrating their hosts.
“They’re a better a team,” Harris said of Faith Lutheran. “They’re a bigger, better team. For our kids to play like they did, I thought they played really well.”
The first set was a battle, with the Crusaders leading by a point or two most of the way after an early 6-2 lead. The Trojans tied it three times, once on a Kate Daffer kill and twice on violations by Faith Lutheran, with the final tie coming at 18-18.
Then service errors, a big problem for the Trojans in their opener against Moapa Valley, came back to haunt them, as two of their next three serves went right into the net. That cost them two more opportunities to tie the score, and the Crusaders scored the final five points of the set.
But unlike their match against the Pirates, the Trojans didn’t make that a habit, making only two more service errors over the final two sets. And they didn’t get down on themselves, as they were loose on the sideline between sets while the Crusaders looked tight.
“They went out there, and they played like they really enjoyed the game,” Harris said. “We play better when we look like we’re having fun.”
But the Crusaders played a tighter match the rest of the way, led by senior Claudia Grepke and Isabelle Guerrero on senior night. Grepke, who had 2 kills in the opening set, finished with 11, including a stretch in which she had three on consecutive points, forcing Harris to call a timeout. That was part of a 6-point run by Faith Lutheran that turned a 7-6 lead into a 14-6 bulge.
Grepke also led the team with 9 digs, while Guerrero finished with 8 kills and the team’s only block, while the duo combined to serve 28 times with just 2 service errors.
The third set was much like the second, with a shot run turning a slight early lead into a more comfortable advantage. Pahrump Valley had cut the lead to 11-8 on a kill from senior Nicky Velazquez, and within minutes it was 17-8. As the match neared its end, the Trojans were still putting together quality points before the Crusaders finally put them away.
In a weird season defined by all of the teams who are not participating, the Trojans’ schedule so far has been mix of two teams not really ready for prime time, one Class 5A powerhouse and one old rival. The result has been two tough losses and two easy wins, with Harris learning more about her team in the losses than in the victories.
“They’re not afraid to work,” she said. “If we played like this against Moapa, it would have been a different story.”
And it was a group effort.
“Nicky had a great game, Tayla (Wombaker) worked her butt off, Kalea (Whitney) played great defense,” Harris said.
The Trojans traveled to Pinecrest Academy Cadence on Thursday, play another young program in Amplus Academy on March 24, then head to SLAM! Nevada two days later. The Bulls are now in 3A South, but they are another fledgling program that the Trojans cruised past last week.
The next match against an established foe will come when Virgin Valley travels to Pahrump on March 29. Contests with Beatty, Moapa Valley, Faith Lutheran and a return trip to Virgin Valley will follow.
And if they play as they did against the Crusaders on Monday, Harris will be happy regardless of the score.
“They were really scrappy tonight,” she said.