Lady Cougars take first Battle of Drum, win four at Window Rock tourney

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Following a tough loss to Shiprock to start their season the Monument Valley volleyball team got back on track with a bang this past week, winning five of the seven games they played.
First, on Tuesday, August 26 the Lady Cougars got a very satisfying 3-1 win over rival Whitehorse in Montezuma Creek, snagging the coveted trophy that symbolizes victory in the opening Battle of the Drum contest this season.
Monument Valley won the opening set 25-14 before the Lady Raiders rallied to take set two 25-21, evening the match. The Lady Cougars dug deep to dominate the next two sets 25-10 and 25-19 to secure the win.
On Friday, August 29 the girls traveled to Window Rock, AZ to begin play at the fifth annual Window Rock Lady Scouts Tournament, suffering a 1-0 loss to Winslow in game one with a final score of 25-11.
But from that point Monument Valley began to tear it up, rattling off three straight wins and four of their last five games to close out the tournament.
They beat Greyhills Academy, Navajo Prep, Chinle, and an unspecified opponent all in straight sets. The only loss they suffered on Saturday, August 30 was to the host team – Window Rock.
Following the first three weeks of the season the Lady Cougars are 5-3 overall and 1-0 in Region 19 play with their win over Whitehorse.
The team was set for two games this week. They hosted Many Farms, AZ on Tuesday, September 2 in a game that was played after the San Juan Record print deadline.
They’ll travel to Cortez, CO to face Montezuma-Cortez in a battle between local rivals on Friday, September 5. The Lady Panthers were 2-0 at the beginning of the week, but played Dolores, CO on Tuesday.