Lady Lynx play seven, watch No. 1 Nebraska over two days in Vegas

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The Lincoln County High School girls volleyball team played three pool play matches on Friday, Aug. 28 and four more tournament matches on Saturday before unwinding at  the UNLV/Nebraska volleyball games in Las Vegas.

The tournament featured skilled, out-of-state teams with a lot of depth. Some teams had rosters twice the size of Lincoln County’s. One of those teams, the Beckman (Cali.) Patriots, nearly dropped the first set to LCHS on Friday, but ultimately prevailed 26-24. The Patriots rolled from there, jumping out to a 13-2 lead and winning 25-10.

Photo by Anthony Varriano
Lincoln County High School senior Gabriella Holt elevates for a kill against Williams Field (Ariz.) in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 28.

In Lincoln’s second match on Friday, the Williams Field (Ariz.) Black Hawks led 6-1 before the Lynx waged their comeback. LCHS tied it at 11 on the serve of Jaitin Cole, then Brylie Somers ticked one off the net to take the lead for the first time. An ace by Cole made it 13-11 Lynx.

WFHS took a 19-16 lead with effective service, and won six of the next eight points to secure the set. That momentum continued into the next set, as the Black Hawks took a 13-8 lead and eventually doubled it in the end.

Beckam placed fourth overall. Williams Field finished just outside the top-10. “It was some good volleyball. Losing was hard mentally – plus a long day. We went to three [sets] with Spring Mountain,” LCHS head coach Chantel Holt informed. 

Those pool play results pitted LCHS in the bronze tournament bracket, but as the top seed, allowing for a favorable draw.

“We won our first two Saturday matches against Cactus Canyon and Clark. In our third against Service, our libero dove into the bench and bruised her elbow really hard,” said Holt. “We only lost that game by five points. She wasn’t 100% for the rest of the day. We ended up playing Pahrump and lost in two hard fought games.”

LCHS finished fourth in the bronze bracket, and after being battered and bruised playing against bigger schools, the Lynx watched and learned from the top volleyball team in the country, Nebraska, who beat UNLV 3-0.

“We went to be challenged; it did just that. Showed my middles the speed they need to get used to,” Holt said. “Plus we ended the weekend at the UNLV versus Nebraska games, so it was a great weekend of volleyball.” 

The Lady Lynx don’t start their league schedule until American Heritage visits for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11.