Monument Valley volleyball opens with win, two losses for Whitehorse

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
It has been a bit of a quiet start for the Monument Valley High School volleyball team. They opened the season with a straight-sets win over Water Canyon on Thursday, September 1 but haven’t played any games since.
In the 1A RPI standings released this week by the Utah High School Activities Association the Cougars cracked the top three behind Panguitch and Rich.
The team has seen some changes since they finished the 2021 season in late October. Specifically, a new head coach, Misty Cly, has taken the helm. And the Cougars lost no less than six seniors to graduation.
Coach Cly was the junior high school volleyball coach in Monument Valley during the 2021 season. She describes herself as a Navajo Woman from Oljato Monument Valley, Utah. She is a graduate of Monument Valley High and played volleyball and basketball during her junior and senior seasons.
Cly is also a US veteran and is currently studying for a Master’s in School Counseling. Of her new job as MVHS head volleyball coach she says, “I love the sport of volleyball and want to create an enthusiastic team.”
She says two of the main things she wants to establish with the team this season are strong teamwork and communication.
The Whitehorse High School volleyball team suffered two straight-sets losses to start their season, at Tohatchi, NM on August 25, then to Green River at home this past Thursday, September 8.
With the 0-2 record, the Raiders weigh in at #21 in the 1A RPI standings, but a lot can change between now and October and there is a lot of volleyball still to be played.
The two longtime rivals were set to meet for the first Battle of the Drum contest in 2022 this Tuesday, September 13. Unfortunately the match was played too late to appear in this week’s paper, but I can promise you it was a spirited affair in the Monument Valley gym.
Neither team will play again this week. Next up for the Cougars is another home rivalry matchup with Monticello on Tuesday, September 20. The Raiders will face the Green River Pirates on the road that same night.