Volleyball: PV holds off San Juan in five sets
FARMINGTON — It wasn't the dominating start to the season the Piedra Vista volleyball team hoped for, but it was enough to get a victory on opening night as the Lady Panthers held off San Juan, Utah, in five sets 25-16, 25-20, 15-25, 19-25, 15-5 at the Jerry A. Conner Fieldhouse.
After the first set started with the two sides going back and forth, PV (1-0) held a 10-7 edge until senior Autumn Begay sparked an 8-0 run with a thunderous spike from the left side. The Lady Broncos (1-3), out of Blanding, Utah, cut the deficit to 19-13, but the hole was too deep to climb out of.
PV rode the momentum from the first set into the second to set up the chance for the sweep. But in the third and fourth sets, the Lady Panthers came out flat.
"I don't know if they got complacent, fell asleep, had an out-of-body experience or what," PV head coach Ron Becker said. "The third and fourth game, I don't know what they decided to do. I'm not at all happy with the third and fourth games, but they finally kind of pulled it back together in the fifth game."
The message to the Lady Panthers was simple heading into the fifth set, as Becker told them to get their heads back in the game.
The Lady Panthers responded, jumping to a 5-0 lead to force San Juan to call time out.
The Lady Broncos chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 6-3, but PV ended the set on a 9-2 run to secure the victory.
Becker said part of the Lady Panthers' struggles during the match was simply a case of first-match nerves, and when they girls found a rhythm, they played well.
"I could tell they had some of that nervousness, and that's always the case in the first match. They're a little timid and don't want to make a mistake, but they got settled in after a little while," Becker said. "We did a lot of good stuff. We were running our offense quick, and when we passed well, we did well and put the ball down."
PV will be off until Sept. 8, when the Lady Panthers host Bayfield, Colo.
Pagosa Springs, Colo., 3, Farmington 0
Nerves got the better of Farmington as the Lady Scorps (0-1) dropped their season opener to Pagosa Springs, Colo., (1-0) 25-17, 25-22, 25-16 at Scorpion Gym.
"Between first match nerves and running younger girls out there to get them acclimated, we had some issues and need to work on some things," FHS head coach Dan Hickman said. "There were some good things that happened. I thought the girls covered the floor well. What really hurt us was we got (eaten) up on the blocks. The girls weren't getting their hands up."
Hickman said his two captains, setter Ashley Flack and libero Lexie Jackson, played well, but after them, the production fell off.
"In the locker room, we talked about cleaning up the errors, and we need to be more aggressive on our serves and making them count," Hickman said. "I hope our younger girls will step up and get past this. Once we find some confidence, I think we'll be OK."
The Lady Scorps will be back on the court Thursday, hosting Kirtland Central (0-0).
Karl Schneider is the sports editor for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4648 and kschneider@daily-times.com. Follow him @karltschneider on Twitter.