HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Brittney Lindgren, the Pahrump Valley libero, will be in the Lady Trojans' lineup when they play at Las Vegas Faith Lutheran Friday, in a Southern Nevada Class 3-A League volleyball match, starting at 5 p.m. Advertisement

MESQUITE -- Pahrump Valley ended a 1-4 skid Friday with a 25-20, 25-15, 19-25, 25-22 victory against homestanding Virgin Valley Friday, in Southern Nevada Class 3-A League volleyball.

The win was the first in three league matches for coach Richard Barker's team, which completed the first round of league matches Tuesday at Boulder City.

Friday, the Lady Trojans travel to Las Vegas Faith Lutheran to play the defending league and regional champion Crusaders, before they finally return to the friendly confines of the PVHS gym to take on Virgin Valley Oct. 17, Overton Moapa Valley Oct. 20, and Boulder City Oct. 26.

The Lady Trojans, 13-10, are out to qualify for the Southern regionals, to be played here Nov. 3. The top four teams qualify, with the No. 1 seed facing No. 4 and No. 2 meeting No. 3 in the first round. The championship winner earns the South's only berth in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association-sanctioned state tournament Nov. 10-11 at Galena High School in Reno. The North gets three spots in the semifinals.

"It was nice to finally see the girls put a win together," said Barker, in his first season as coach. "They have struggled with little things for the last couple weeks. We still struggled, but the girls seemed to come together much better."

Barker is pleased with a lineup that in most rotations included Elena Holzer, elevated from the junior varsity, along with veterans Michelle Dannenberger, Kristi Daffer, Angelica Villa, and Brittney Lindgren.

Holzer and Lindgren are juniors; Daffer is a sophomore, while Dannenberger and Villa are seniors.

The roster includes freshman Yaundee Otano, sophomores Ashley Humbert and Arlete Scott; juniors Lindsay Cummings, Frankie Beatty, Ashleah Barney, Megan Meads and Shandy Malic, and senior Karen Visser.

"Elena helped us on defense; Villa had a good night defensively, while Kristi and Michelle both continue to remain strong in our middle," said Barker. "Lindgren has begun to demonstrate strong leadership on the back row.

"While our overall defense continues to move more slowly than optimal," said Barker, "the front row defense began to close some holes that previously gave us trouble."

In the match, Pahrump Valley was dominant for the first two games, before allowing the winless Bulldogs to dictate the tempo in the third and the start of the fourth.

In Game One, the Trojans trailed 15-11, but a seven-point run off the serve of Daffer gave the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. In Game Two, Pahrump Valley led all the way, taking a 10-point advantage (16-6) on four consecutive serves by Villa.

Virgin Valley led 7-6, 14-9, and 22-18, enroute to its Game Three win. The Bulldogs were ahead 10-9 in the fourth game before the Trojans regrouped to win the game and match.

NOTES -- Brittney Lindgren had 16 digs ... Angelica Villa had 12 digs, two kills, 11 blocks and 13 sets/assists ... Michelle Dannenberger had 16 digs, 14 kills, and six blocks ... Kristi Daffer had 13 kills, three digs and three aces ... Ashleah Barney added four digs and five blocks.