Fernley to face Moapa Valley in State Volleyball Tournament
Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
When they take the court Friday night in the semifinals of the 2021 Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association/One Nevada Credit Union, the Fernley High School volleyball team will be trying to get somewhere the program has never been – the state championship match.
The Vaqueros defeated Wooster in five sets last Saturday in the Northern 3A Region Tournament in Fallon to punch their ticket to the state tournament. They will face Southern 3A champion Moapa Valley in the second semifinal match at 8 p.m. The first match, at 6:20 p.m., will feature Northern 3A champion Truckee against Boulder City, which has won the last three 3A state championships. The championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Hug.
There was no state tournament in 2020 because of COVID-19.
In Truckee, Moapa Valley and Boulder City, the tournament features three schools who are among those that have won the most state championships in NIAA history.
With 14 state titles, Moapa Valley has the most of any school currently aligned in the 3A, and the second most in state history, behind Pahranagat Valley’s 20. The Pirates also own the state’s longest title streak, winning 13 in a row from 1991-2003. Boulder City has won eight state championships, the second most among 3A schools, including the last three. Truckee is has won four state championships and was the last team to win the title before Boulder City’s threepeat.
The Vaqueros earned the right to join that group at this year’s tournament by outlasting Wooster in five extremely close sets, 25-20, 33-31, 22-25, 21-25, 15-13.
That also advanced them to the regional championship match against Truckee, where they lost in three sets. The first two were close, 25-22 ad 25-20, before the Vaqueros ran out of gas in the third set and lost 25-12.