Before they were varsity contenders, the seniors on this year’s Churchill County High School volleyball team were just middle schoolers learning the game.
After the Greenwave’s season, and the high school volleyball careers of those seniors, ended in straight sets against eventual regional champion South Tahoe last Tuesday, that’s what head coach Tristin Johnson was thinking the most about.
"It was a memorable season for me," Johnson said. "Yes, it was full of ups and downs, but this team will always be special to me. I've coached them since they were middle schoolers — and some younger — and watching them grow up and improve as volleyball players and young women was a pleasure.”
The Greenwave finished the season with a 14-16 overall record, including 5-5 in the Northern 3A East. They went through streaks of five straight losses and six consecutive wins at different points in the season but won three of their last four regular season matches to earn the No. 6 seed for the regional tournament.
Unfortunately, that put them up against South Tahoe in the quarterfinal round last Tuesday. The Vikings had rebounded from going 0-5 in a tournament in early October and finished in a three-way tie with Fernley and Truckee for the league lead but were relegated to the third seed because of a tiebreaker.
In a match where South Tahoe had 97 attacks at the net and Fallon had 91, the Vikings converted 37 into kills, compared to 24 for the Greenwave and came away with the win, 25-15, 25-20, 25-17.
Audrey Fruzza led the Greenwave with 11 kills and three aces, while Raegan Johnson added 10 kills.
Layla Walker recorded 13 digs, and Kalaya Downs finished with 16 assists and 10 digs. For South Tahoe, Viviana Wilson had 17 kills and Ayla Rodriguez added 12.
The Vikings followed their win over Fallon by making a mockery of the tiebreakers, beating Fernley in four sets and Truckee in three to claim the regional title. South Tahoe and Truckee will both represent the North at the 3A State Tournament in Las Vegas.
While that’s a trip the Greenwave players were hoping to earn for themselves, Tristin Johnson said they will achieve plenty of other things in their lives.
“They're all going to go on and do amazing things and I'm grateful I had a front row seat to watch them play hard this season,” Johnson said.
Comment
Comments