DON McDERMOTT / PVT Kristi Daffer, 12, and Taylor Lau leap to block a kill by Yerington's Kayla Lommorri, 10, in Pahrump Valley's 3-0 loss to the Lions in the Nevada Class 3-A State Volleyball tournament, Friday at Silverado High School in Las Vegas. Yerington won the state title Saturday, beating Truckee, Calif., 3-1. Advertisement

LAS VEGAS -- If Pahrump Valley volleyball fans were in the Silverado High School gym for the Nevada State Championships Friday and Saturday, they would have seen the Trojans' Class 3-A experience end, as well what the future might hold for the program.

Yerington, led by 6-footers Kayla Lommori (15 kills, three blocks) and Dama Cox (eight kills, two blocks), slugged its way to a 25-18, 25-21, 25-20 victory in the state 3-A semifinals Friday night, in a match that started at 10:10 p.m. and ended at 11:30. The scheduled starting time was 8:40 p.m. for the last of eight semifinal matches in four classes Friday.

Yerington, the defending state champion, ended a 17-match undefeated run by Truckee, Calif., Saturday in the finals. The Lions prevailed 26-24, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, after losing all four previous matches against the Wolverines.

Truckee had advanced to the finals with a come-from-behind 23-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-14, 16-14 win against Overton Moapa Valley.

And, Trojan faithful would have gotten an idea of what Class 4-A volleyball is like, in particular Durango's team, which is in the Sunset Region Southwest Division, where Pahrump Valley will compete, starting in the 2008-2009 school year.

Durango features 6-foot-6 Hayley Spelman, a junior middle hitter-blocker who led the Trailblazers to the division title and a state finals berth. However, Silverado, with eight girls 5-foot-10 or better, had more than enough defensive skills to counter Spelman and win the state championship match 25-23, 25-21, 25-19.

Kristi Daffer, a 6-foot junior middle hitter-blocker, had 11 kills and two blocks against the Lions. Shayna Smith had five kills for the Trojans, who combined for 18 kills, compared to 27 for the Lions.

Against Yerington, the Trojans were never to generate any consistency offensively, because of the ominous presence of Lommori and Cox.

The Trojans led 2-1 in the first game, but the Lommori-Cox duo sparked a 7-1 run that gave the Lions control. The Trojans trailed 22-18 when Daffer got her fifth kill of the game, but Lommori got a kill and PV had back-to-back hitting errors to close it out.

Pahrump Valley led 12-6, 15-10 and 18-13 in Game Two, but the Trojans had trouble serve-receiving for a brief spell, allowing Yerington to jump ahead 22-21. Two kill attempts by the Trojans went awry and an illegal touch ended the game.

Lommori and Cox powered the Lions to an 11-1 advantage, before coach Anna Aiazzi began substituting liberally. The Trojans, with Smith sparking the rally, got to within three points (21-18) before Lommori, et al returned to power a 4-2 run to finish the match -- and the Trojans' season.

Pahrump Valley was 17-18 in its first year under the direction of coach Amy Braach-Hart.

In the 2008-2009 season, Daffer, Smith, Casey Scheller, Karen Daun, Vanessa Veloz and Arlette Scott off the state tournament team are slated to return.

Brittney Lindgren, Lindsay Cummings, Frankie Beatty and Taylor Lau are seniors.