By Breven Honda
For the last couple of years, the Virgin Valley High School girls volleyball program has continued its upward trend.
The Bulldogs reached their next step toward prominence when they defeated Moapa Valley in four sets (25-13, 18-25, 25-19, 25-11) on Oct. 22 to claim the outright 3A South-Desert title—their first in 16 years.
“I’m just super excited and grateful,” said Head Coach Kortney Tobler. “The girls have worked hard, and I think it’s well deserved.”
The Bulldogs were led by their two seniors, Julia Leavitt and Hayden Owsley, who both recorded double-doubles against the Pirates. Leavitt recorded 15 digs, 14 kills, and two aces, while Owsley logged 17 digs, 12 kills, and five total blocks.
“They’re good hitters; they’re good blockers,” Tobler said. “They terminate on the net for us, and they’re great leaders. They do a great job of just being steady out there and confident.”
In addition, Leavitt was one of four players with two aces as Virgin Valley recorded nine total aces in the win.
“One of the great advantages about our team is we don’t just rely on one player to do all the heavy lifting,” Tobler said. “We all share in that. We had just fantastic net play all night. Our blockers were doing such a great job. We had some great servers go back and take turns and just serve really well.”
One of the key victories leading up to securing the league title came on Oct. 14 on the road against The Meadows School, a team that has won several state championships over the last few years.
On Sept. 8, The Meadows School had gotten the best of Virgin Valley, winning in five sets.
So, it was fitting that the October meeting between the two schools also went the distance.
Through three sets, the Bulldogs trailed two sets to one. However, that didn’t stop them for the rest of the match.
After dominating the fourth set 25-13, Virgin Valley won a tight fifth set, 15-13, to secure the crucial match.
Sophomore Kinley Hughes recorded 24 kills and 22 digs. Owsley also recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Junior Mady Wright added 25 digs from the back row, and Tobler’s daughter, Mayzie, recorded 38 assists and 14 digs for a double-double of her own.
“She’s been a huge player for us all year,” Tobler said of Hughes. “She has come along a lot this year. I really have great defenders. If we keep the ball from hitting the floor, it creates momentum for our team.”
The victory over the rival Pirates marked six straight wins to end the season and 12 wins in the final 13 matches.
“As a coach, that’s always the key,” Tobler said on finishing the season strong. “I feel really good about the volleyball we’ve been playing. Our practices are really intense. They’re working hard, and we’re definitely playing the best volleyball we’ve played all year. So that’s exactly what we want.”
