Lewis, Pahranagat Valley cap three-peat in volleyball

Pahranagat Valley's Halie Lewis could not have picked a better way to end her high school volleyball career Saturday.

The senior outside hitter was nearly unstoppable, leading the Panthers to a 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 victory over Tonopah in the Class 1A state final at Chaparral.

The championship was a state-record 15th for the Panthers, who won their third in a row.

"This is way cool," said Lewis, who had 22 kills and ended the match with back-to-back aces. "I've been part of the last three, and it's been really fun."

Senior outside hitter Kyla Mortensen, who had 14 kills and six digs, also played her final match, and coach Ginger Whipple said she will miss her standouts.

"You hate to say goodbye," said Whipple, whose squad beat Tonopah 3-1 in the regional tournament last week. "It's premium if you have one good outside hitter, and we have two."

The Panthers (33-2) quickly established the tempo, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first set. The Muckers (26-12) stayed close until Lewis capped an 11-5 spurt with one of her eight kills in the set.

In the second set, the Panthers pulled away late, and they ran away with the third set, leading 15-9 after an 8-2 run. Lewis had seven kills in the set.

"This never gets old," said Whipple, whose team qualified for the title match by sweeping Sierra Lutheran on Friday. "For us, this has kind of become a tradition, and I don't mean that in an arrogant way. It gives the girls extra confidence."

Kimberly Lewis (23 assists, seven digs), Kennedy Huntsman (12 assists) and Tracy Strong (five digs) aided the Panthers' victory. Deanna Van Poucke led Tonopah with nine kills.

CLASS 3A

■ Truckee 3, Boulder City 0 -- Annie Reiswig had 13 kills as the Wolverines defeated the Eagles 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 to claim their third straight Class 3A title.

"What hurt my players tonight was their nerves," said Boulder City coach Cherise Roe, whose team has struggled in state tournaments despite winning three consecutive Southern League championships. "I think they were shell shocked even to be in this match."

The Eagles' only true glimmer of hope came in the first set, when they opened with a 6-3 lead. But the Wolverines erased that in a hurry, going ahead 14-8 when Kiersten Knoppel tipped one over the net to cap an 8-1 run.

Though the Eagles (29-8) fell behind early in the third set, they rallied for a 17-all tie. Truckee (23-9) then scored eight of the set's final 10 points.

"We had some good points up at the net, and our blocking was good," Roe said. "Our front line was good, but we just couldn't get momentum. And when we did, we couldn't keep it."

Truckee's Katie Mohun had 11 digs, and Brittany Thomas had 29 assists.

Whitney Barlow led Boulder City with nine kills. Mallory Bird (six kills, four blocks), Ali Rants (23 digs), Avalon Frantz (20 assists, six blocks) and Alexa Lister (eight blocks) also contributed.

CLASS 2A

■ Yerington 3, Whittell 0 -- Makenna Lommori compiled 14 kills, 15 assists and two blocks to lead the Lions over the Warriors, 25-19, 25-13, 25-17, for the Class 2A title.