Lake Tahoe is a year-round destination, but the Pahrump Valley High School girls soccer team didn’t head up there on vacation but to play four games in two days.
But they had as good of a time as anyone going there for a January ski weekend.
The Trojans went 2-0-2 at South Tahoe, defeating Lowry (7-4) and Churchill County (5-1) and tying Spring Creek (1-1) and Elko (0-0), results that delighted coach Julie Carrington.
“In the 1-1 game, that happened just like state happened to us two years ago,” referring to a 2-1 loss to Truckee . We were up 1-0 the whole game and in the last five seconds they got one in.
“We had four freshmen on our defensive line,” said Carrington, noting starter Ally Rily didn’t make the trip. “The second team we played had five seniors and some juniors, and we ended up tying them.”
While the Trojans didn’t play the Northern Nevada powers they thought they might face during the tournament, Carrington said the trip was worthwhile.
“We didn’t get to play against South Tahoe and Truckee, which was kind of the point of going up there,” she said. “But it was good for the girls to see what level we need to be at. Our last game was a little rough, because the freshmen aren’t used to playing at this level for so long. Five freshmen started. They really did fabulous. They really did.
“For the soccer experience of it, I think it was really positive and brought the team together. I have to say it was a very good experience. And it was in Lake Tahoe so you’ve got to be happy with that.”
The Trojans faced SLAM Academy on Monday and came back with a 2-1 win. Kaylee Mendoza scored twice and Makayla Gent tallied once for the Trojans.
“They’re not in our league, but we have played them in the past,” Carrington said, citing Gent, Mendoza, Rily and Maddie Souza as particularly effective players in the early going. “And Kiara Ramos did amazing on defense this weekend.”
Pirates sweep Trojans
Kate Daffer posted 9 kills and Maddie Hansen finished with 8 assists, but the Pahrump Valley girls volleyball team dropped a three-set match Wednesday evening to Moapa Valley in Overton.
Abbie Evans totaled 11 kills and 13 digs for the Pirates, who won 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 in the nonleague match.
The Trojans will play their first home match of the season against SLAM Academy at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Positive signs for Hornets
The Beatty High School girls volleyball team headed to Yerington and, while only winning one match against four losses, coach Steve Sullivan saw good things from the Hornets.
“Going into a tournament like this we knew there would be some really tough teams from all levels, but we talked about not worrying about wins or losses or even the score,” Sullivan said.
“Just focus on how we are playing and if we are improving every game.”
The Hornets lost to Churchill County, Damonte Ranch, Virginia City and Pahrump Valley while defeating Eureka.
“Considering the size of some of the schools and their level of talent, I was impressed with how we played. I could tell the girls were getting more comfortable in the system. Against teams in our division (Class 1A) like Virginia City and Eureka, I thought we were very competitive.”
The victory over Eureka was in straight sets, although Sullivan was concerned the Hornets seemed to take their foot off the gas late in the match. By the time they met the Trojans, they had little left for another Class 3A foe.
“When we played Pahrump we just didn’t have enough in the tank,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t have enough to try and compete with Pahrump’s level of play.”
But overall the tournament was a positive way to open the season, he said.
“The Yerington Tournament is a great tournament that gives teams a chance to play a lot of volleyball, which we love,” Sullivan said. “Overall, it was a pretty good start to the season for us in terms of the growth we showed, the team’s positivity and their competitiveness, however, we still have a long way to go.”