Longhorns back on the road for two matches; host Lowry on Tuesday

The Battle Mountain High School volleyball team kicked a four-match, two-weekend road trip, with its furthest destination this past weekend.

The Longhorns stopped first in Reno this past Friday and closed out the weekend in Tahoe City, Calif.

“With this trip being our farthest one, we ended up performing well against both teams that we faced,” said BMHS head coach Julia Ramirez. “The progress the girls make each week is amazing to witness when they get to put all their hard work into the games we play. We look forward to settling into an offensive rhythm and working on being comfortable in uncomfortable situations.”

On Friday evening, Battle Mountain dropped the first set 25-20 to the Falcons, only to rally back 25-20, 25-18 and a dominating 25-13 win in the fourth set.

Senior Paitynn Johns and Kamilia Farias paced the hitting attack, with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as Battle Mountain had 31 in the match. Ella Matheus and fellow junior Yadira Vazquez contributed four and three kills, respectively.

Keona Colver had a team-high four aces, with Miranda Lomeli, Matheus, Farias, Vazquez and Johns each recording three aces. Colver (17) and Farias (14) paced the dig count, as Matheus and Johns had four each and Vazquez and Lomeli three apiece. Lomeli had a team-high 20 assists.

Battle Mountain faced one of the top teams in the league on Saturday, in North Tahoe. Even though the Lakers swept the match 25-14, 25-16, 26-24, Ramirez was happy with her team’s performance.

“Actually, I was not disappointed in our play at all,” said the coach. “We are one of a couple teams to play them that close like we did in the third set.”

North Tahoe is 10-0 on the season and has lost only one set all year — that being to Portola, Calif.

Johns finished with a team-high seven kills, with Farias and Vazquez adding five each and Matheus three. Rami McGrath, Johns and Vazquez each had a block and Lomeli 14 assists. Colver led the way with 13 digs, Johns seven and Matheus six.

Battle Mountain sits 6-10-1 overall and 2-2 in the Northern 2A and travels to Oasis Academy on Friday for a 5 p.m. start and Yerington on Saturday at noon.

The Longhorns are home on Tuesday to play Lowry at 6 p.m. and travel to West Wendover on Sept. 18.