Lady Raiders win four straight on the road

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Whitehorse High School volleyball team bounced back from their season-opening loss to Monument Valley in the Battle of the Drum August 26 with a 4-0 run over the course of the past nine days.
They beat Newcomb, NM on August 28, Shiprock Northwest on September 2, Pinnacle Academy on September 4, and Green River on Friday, September 5.
All of the wins were in straight sets except for their four-set victory over the Lady Pirates on Friday and all were on the road. The Lady Raiders have improved to 4-1 on the season and are 2-1 in Region 19 play.
Against Newcomb they won the opening set 25-18, held off a Lady Skyhawk rally in the second for a 25-22 win, and closed out the match with a dominant 25-8 third set.
Senior Keira Chee led the offensive attack with three kills. Junior Katiana Ben had two and sophomore Kaleigh Chee got one.
Junior Kelaigha Nakai had an impressive night, assisting on 15 points in the win, serving up eight aces, and digging four Lady Skyhawk shots.
Senior Keira Little led the Whitehorse defensive effort with six blocks. Miranda Denny and Savonnah Hamm got one dig apiece. And Keira Chee received six Newcomb serves.
Against Shiprock Northwest the Lady Raiders won 25-10, 25-23, and 25-10. Keira Chee was selected as the MaxPreps Player of the Match.
Against Pinnacle in Price this past Thursday the girls again dominated in a straight-sets win 25-10, 25-19, and 25-18.
Keira Chee led with three kills while Katiana Ben got two and Kaleigh Chee and Malia Sam both had one apiece. Chee served two aces and DaryInn Benally served one.
Kelaigha Nakai had three blocks in the win and Alejuandria Benally had one. Keira Chee received three Pinnacle serves and Alejuandria Benally received two.
In their most recent game and fourth of their four-game road swing the Lady Raiders traveled to Green River on Friday, September 5 where they won the opening two sets 25-21 and 25-14.
The Lady Pirates rallied to prevent a sweep with a 25-19 win in set three, but Whitehorse stormed back to take the fourth and final set 25-20.
It will be interesting to see where the Lady Raiders stack up against the rest of the 1A competition as the first edition of the RPI standings are set to be released by the Utah High School Activities Association on Wednesday, September 10.
The team won’t play again until next week and they’ll remain on the road. They’re set for back-to-back games against Water Canyon and Milford on Monday and Tuesday, September 15-16. After it’s all said and done they will have played six straight road matches.
On Thursday, September 18 they’ll finally return home to host Shiprock Northwest as they close out their season series with the Lady Falcons.