Monument Valley takes first Battle of the Drum this season, improves to 4-2 on year

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monument Valley and Whitehorse high school volleyball teams met for the first Battle of the Drum this season on Thursday, September 3 in Monument Valley.
The Lady Cougars won in dominant fashion, sweeping their rivals 25-14, 25-12, and 25-19. The victory capped a run of four wins in Monument Valley’s last five games.
The team began the season with a hard-fought loss against a tough Red Mesa squad on August 26. They fell behind 2-0 in the match but won two sets in a row to force a fifth and deciding set, which they lost 15-9.
On August 29 the Lady Cougars rattled off two wins over Pinon, AZ and Valley, AZ at a tournament in Window Rock, AZ before suffering a loss to Winslow to close out that tournament.
This past Tuesday, September 1 Monument Valley swept Many Farms in straight sets just before they met Whitehorse.
Through the first six games of the season the Lady Cougars are 4-2 overall and, with the win over Whitehorse, 1-0 in Region 19 play.
In the 15 sets of statistics reported on MaxPreps, Naomi White leads the team offensively with 33 kills. Nesbah Hunt has 27 kills, Malaya Blackmountain has 15, and Peyton Tome has ten.
Peyton Tome has assisted on 61 Lady Cougar points so far this season, with Meliyah Holiday collecting 32 assists.
Meliyah Holiday leads Monument Valley with 14 aces on the season, Nesbah Hunt has 11, Naomi White nine, and Peyton Tome and Natalin Russell both have seven each. Russell has served 100 percent in 25 attempts.
Defensively, Russell leads the team with 40 digs on the season. Naomi White has 32 digs, Nesbah Hunt 21, Peyton Tome 19, and Malaya Blackmountain 17. Naomi White has collected nine blocks for the Lady Cougars.
For Whitehorse, the loss in Monument Valley dropped the team to 2-1 on the season. The Lady Raiders started the season with three games in three days.
They beat Northwest in straight sets on Tuesday, September 1, then topped Green River in four sets on Wednesday, September 2.
In the seven sets of recorded stats on MaxPreps, Katiana Ben leads the team with 11 kills, Kaleigh Chee has seven, and Miranda Denny has five.
Chee has 11 assists, Kaelinn Brown has eight, and Kelaigha Nakai and Savannah Hamm both have five each. Malia Sam has served up nine aces on the season and Kaleigh Chee has five.
Defensively Kaelinn Brown leads the Lady Raiders with nine digs, Kiari Mike has eight, and Andrea Slim has six. Chee, Denny, and Ben all have three blocks apiece.
Monument Valley will host Shiprock this Wednesday, September 9, then travel to take on Newcomb, NM on Friday, September 11. Whitehorse played at Red Mesa on September 8 after the San Juan Record print deadline.