DON McDERMOTT / PVT The volleyball drops between two Pahrump Valley players (including Kristi Daffer, center) and the net, during a recent match. Tonight, the Lady Trojans play at Mesquite Virgin Valley in a Southern Nevada Class 3-A League match. Action starts at 5 p.m. Advertisement

The Pahrump Valley High School girls volleyball team, now 0-2 in the Southern Nevada Class 3-A League, is at Mesquite today to play Virgin Valley in a best-of-three match, starting at 5 p.m.

Coach Richard Barker's team, 12-10 in all matches, lost 24-26, 25-15, 25-21, 25-9 at Overton Moapa Valley Tuesday, which was a bad day for all of the Trojan teams. The JVs lost 25-19, 25-18, while the B team fell 25-20, 13-25, 15-4.

"It was another dismal night in the trenches," said Richard Barker, the Trojans' first-year coach. "The team traveled to Moapa with a confidence borne from hard work and good practices. We have worked to bring the team into a collective identity. I felt we were in for a good night in which success would be ours."

The first game win reinforced that belief.

"We started off strong," said Barker. "Moapa is ... and was expected to be ... a tough competitor. It was point for point. Some really exciting volleyball during the first game. I was pleased to see the girls playing as well as we have practiced since last Tuesday."

Then, the errors began to compound.

"Mental errors were costly to us," said Barker. "However, we now have a line-up which will give us a chance to become more consistent. Despite the scores, we turned in some much improved performances.

"Angelica Villa (with 18 assists, a kill and two blocks) was much more consistent. She more frequently found the hitters who were open, which is difficult to do with a team like Moapa who can read a play and put up a modest block against your hitters," said Barker. "Kristi Daffer had two incredible kills. It was just a matter of near perfect timing between setter and hitter on a couple of jump-set quick attacks.

"Michelle Dannenberger (nine kills, three blocks) executed a cross court kill off a back slide that really had the fans excited. She really slammed the ball to the floor," said Barker. "Brittney Lindgren turned in a superb performance. She turned in 30 digs with only three errors. She really did shine."

Pahrump Valley goes to Boulder City Tuesday and to Las Vegas Faith Lutheran Oct. 13 for league matches, before returning home to take on Virgin Valley Oct. 17, Moapa Valley Oct. 20, and Boulder City Oct. 26.

The Southern regionals are Nov. 3, with the top four teams qualifying for the single-elimination tournament to be played at Virgin Valley. The No. 1 seed will play No. 4 at 3 p.m., with Nos. 2 and 3 colliding at 5. The championship match, to determine the South's representative in the state tournament, is at 7 p.m.

The state tournament is Nov. 10-11 at Galena High School in Reno. State semifinal matches are at 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 10, with the state title showdown at 2 p.m. Nov. 11. Pahrump Valley has played at Galena twice, losing to Moapa Valley in the state championship match in 2002 and falling in the first round in a five-set thriller to Incline.