Homecoming is this week for Pahranagat Valley High, and the volleyball team has a match with Indian Springs. It’s a meeting between the unbeaten league leaders, both at 3-0.
Over the past week, the girls played at Division III Sunrise Mountain and swept the Miners 25-23, 25-19, 25-20, then had a league game in Las Vegas with last place Word of Life and beat the Eagles in straight sets 3-0.
Pahranagat coach Ginger Whipple said she is really proud of the team right now. “You get to this point where you have to be able to challenge them and motivate them because some of the games (with lesser opponents) are not very challenging.”
Nonetheless, Whipple said the girls are playing as a team. “Everybody knows their roles and their jobs. You get to that point, and it’s a good place to be. We do play as a team, there’s no stars. One day one of them will do better than the other, but they carry each other.”
She also points to the senior leadership of Traci Strong, Kennedy Huntsman, Bailee Hosier and Cheyenne Harris, “which does make a huge difference.”
The younger players are coming along was well, she said. “When you play these teams that are just starting out, you get a lot of opportunity to play your younger kids. We sometimes bring one of the JV players up and stick them in, one or two at a time to see what happens. I’m also impressed looking at the 8th grade class.”
Whipple noted that sophomore Brook Higbee and freshman Alyson Egbert have been showing strong improvement. “Really proud of their contribution to the team. They are learning every single game.
You always feel good about that as a coach when you see improvement in the younger players, that you have made the right decision by putting them there.”
