Lady Cougars are second in 1A volleyball standings

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monument Valley High School volleyball team has won six of their last nine games, improving to 10-6 in September and moving up to the #2 spot in the 1A RPI standings.
The Lady Cougars battled the Monticello Lady Buckaroos, falling in five sets to their rivals on September 17. Naomi White and Shaundin Blackwater both had ten kills and served up five aces each in the loss.
White led the team with five blocks, Blackwater had two, and Samara Sheppard got one. Shilah Williams collected a solid eight digs, White had five, and Nesbah Hunt and Sloane Sheppard got four apiece. Kaylisa Tome and Ayainna Cly led the team with 23 and 20 assists respectively.
On Saturday, September 21 Monument Valley traveled to Aztec, NM for a tournament. They suffered a straight-sets loss to the host Lady Tigers but bounced back for a five-set win over Crownpoint.
In the loss to Aztec White, Blackwater, and Dakotah Cly all had four kills apiece. White served the only ace in the game. White and Blackwater got three blocks apiece.
Ayainna Cly and Hunt led with six digs apiece while Williams got five. Tome led the team with 12 assists and Ayainna Cly collected six.
Dakotah Cly led with 12 kills in the game against Crownpoint and White had ten. White served up eight aces in the win. Dakotah Cly and White both had four blocks apiece.
Shilah Williams had ten digs, LeighAn Atene got nine, and Hunt tallied eight. Tome assisted on 26 points and Ayainna Cly had 15 assists.
This past Tuesday, September 24 the Lady Cougars hit the road again to take on Pinon, AZ. Monument Valley cruised past the Lady Eagles in straight sets.
Dakotah Cly and White got ten and seven kills respectively in the win. Shikeeya Hudson and Sheppard collected four kills each.
White and Tome both had five aces apiece. Dakotah Cly, White, and Sheppard had two blocks each. Williams led the Lady Cougars with seven digs and Tome had 15 assists.
This past Friday, September 27 Monument Valley beat Rehoboth Christian 3-2 in the Lynx’s own tournament in Rehoboth, NM. The Lady Cougars fell behind two sets to none, but rallied to win three straight in an impressive comeback win.
Dakotah Cly again led the team with 11 kills. Blackwater served up three aces, White tallied five blocks, Williams got ten digs, and Tome collected 15 assists in the game.
The Lady Cougars suffered a four-set loss to Reserve in game two of the tournament.
The girls will have a tough time holding on to their first-place ranking as they’re going to face three teams with losing records in the next few days.
They’ll host Pinnacle in a Region 19 showdown on Friday, October 4. The next night Green River comes to town for another region battle. On Tuesday, October 8 the girls will travel to Rock Point, AZ to take on the Rock Point Lady Cougars.