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3A VOLLEYBALL: Boulder City nearly blows lead, rallies to clinch berth in title game

Boulder City girls volleyball coach Cherise Hinman was practically out of breath as she beamed in jubilation following her team’s Class 3A semifinal match on Wednesday.

After two hours, five sets and one berth in the Class 3A Southern Region championship match, who could blame her?

The Eagles squandered a two-set lead, only to rally in the fifth set to beat Pahrump Valley 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11 on Wednesday evening at Boulder City High.

“To be up two, and for them to take away the second two sets, it was really tough on the girls,” Hinman said. “They were really nervous. To come back like that and to have confidence in one another. It shows a lot.”

Boulder City (17-19) plays Moapa Valley (25-10) in the region final at noon Saturday at Coronado. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament.

The Trojans (23-14), who posted 10-0 record in Sunset League play, pushed the Eagles to the brink and nearly broke their will in the fourth set. But Boulder City rallied and came from behind to win the fifth and final set.

“It got really frustrating at one point but I knew we could pull it out of us,” Boulder City junior hitter Maggie Roe said. “I’m really proud of the girls.”

The Eagles and Trojans traded blows for most of the first two sets, but Boulder City was a little more polished and secured the key points to build a 2-0 lead.

Pahrump made things interesting, though.

The Trojans rallied to win the third set and fought back from a 9-3 deficit in the fourth set to win 25-23, subsequently piling the pressure on the Eagles, who trailed for most of the fifth set.

But Roe ensured they would not lose. She recorded a couple key kills and Boulder City closed the fifth set on a 7-1 run to clinch the win.

Roe was a force with 41 kills and three blocks. Setter Alea Lehr had 67 assists, and teammate Lexi Bringle added 18 digs.

“We all were really hyped the whole time,” Roe said. “I’m glad we were that way because we weren’t always that way during the season.”

Alexis Trieb led Pahrump with 11 kills, and teammate Koral Hearn had nine kills and five blocks.

Boulder City hasn’t been to the state tournament since 2013, and Hinman said the emotion of Wednesday’s victory could fuel the Eagles in the region championship match.

“We’ll be ready to go,” she said. “They’ll be fired up.”

Moapa Valley 3, Virgin Valley 0 — The Pirates cruised past the Bulldogs for a 25-16, 25-21, 25-13 win and a spot in the region championship match and a trip to the state tournament for the first time since 2008.

“We knew we had the components, the elements to get this far,” Moapa Valley coach Mandie Matheson said. “It was just a matter of making sure that we put it all together. The girls came ready to play and I feel like we took care of that today.”

They certainly did.

The Pirates jumped all over the Bulldogs in the first set thanks to some swift and graceful passing and execution.

The second set, however, was a little trickier.

Moapa Valley opened up an 11-0 lead, but awoke Virgin Valley’s offense in the process. The Bulldogs found their rhythm and crawled all the way back, thanks to a 14-4 run.

Suddenly, the Pirates appeared vulnerable and were out of sorts on both offense and defense. But they regrouped late in the set for a 25-21 victory.

“(The second set was) extremely important. Virgin Valley had some great players and they sure made a run for it,” Matheson said. “I love that my girls kept their composure and came in with confidence and took care of it point by point.”

There was no such drama in the third set.

Moapa Valley built an early lead and cruised the rest of the way, despite the best efforts from diving and lunging Bulldogs players.

Eden Whitemore led Moapa Valley with 14 kills. Jalea Blasingame had six kills and four blocks. Shelbi Walker added four service aces.

Blasingame said after the game that she, too, knew her team had the potential to make a state tournament run and pointed to a number of factors that were key in the Pirates success.

“We knew from the beginning it was going to be teamwork, chemistry and communication,” Blasingame said. “Volleyball is a mental sport … We’ve come a long ways.”

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