Pahranagat Valley’s Brook Higbee hammers one home in a recent match for the Lady Panthers volleyhball team. (Dave Maxwell photo)
They may not be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, instead they are the four seniors on the Pahranagat Valley girls volleyball team who are leading the team this season.
Traci Strong, Kennedy Huntsman, Bailee Hosier and Cheyenne Harris led the Lady Panthers to the championship of the eight-team Lake Mead Invitational Tournament Sept. 12-13.
PVHS outlasted Bishop Gorman’s JV Blue team 25-21, 25-27, 15-13 in the championship match.
During the tournament, they won matches over Calvary Chapel JVs, Bishop Gorman freshmen, Lake Mead JVs, and Lake Mead varsity.
Two Alamo girls were named to the All-Tournament team, Hosier and Strong, and Kennedy Huntsman was named as the tournament MVP, of which she said she was very pleased.
Coach Ginger Whipple said each deserved the recognition. “They were the leaders on the floor. They played smart and with confidence, and calmed the team when things got tense. There’s a big difference between a junior and a senior in experience. That’s why we probably why we beat Gorman, the experience of juniors and seniors playing against sophomores and freshmen, even though Gorman was taller.”
Strong said she felt all the players worked as a team. “We were passing well, we were smart and hitting it in the holes.”
Whipple said several of the teams at the tournament had players taller than the Panthers and, “I’m pleasantly surprised when we meet teams like that, they should have their way with us, but often don’t. My seniors that are on the floor are doing their job. They are putting the ball away from the defense and our serves are not allowing them to set up their offense, so we accentuate the things we know how to do best, ie., serving and digging, and placing the ball in the hole. We tried our best to move the ball around and keep the ball away from the hitters.”
While complementing the seniors for their fine play, Whipple also mentioned the outstanding defensive play of junior Jamie Hansen and sophomore Brook Higbee.
Earlier in the week, at Mesquite, the Panthers were 25-16, 25-9, 25-13 winners over the Bulldogs Sept. 10.
Pahranagat took a non-league 3-0 match with visiting White Pine Sept. 17. Traci Strong had 14 kills, 14 digs and five assists leading the Panther girls. Scores were 25-12, 26-24, 26-24. Bailee Hosier had 29 digs and 11 kills while Kennedy Huntsman added 20 assists.
Alamo begins league play at Beatty, Sept. 20, and hosts Adelson Sept. 24.
