Lake Mead girls’ volleyball ready for state

By Sean Ammerman

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | midnight

Lake Mead Christian Academy’s Sam Herman remembers the ride home from last year’s state volleyball tournament in Reno.

For the second straight season, her team was ousted from the class 1A tournament’s semifinals by Northern Nevada’s Owyhee High.

Herman had seven hours to think about the loss during the team’s trip back from up north.

“It was definitely heartbreaking to go down there a second time in a row and lose,” said Herman, a junior outside hitter. “It was difficult to have worked so hard and die out in that last game.”

Lake Mead (25-4) has been competitive nearly every season since coach Diana Lewis took over the program eight years ago. But the Eagles haven’t been able to break through and win the state title.

“The difference about this team is that they don’t give up,” Lewis said. “They have the practice of being at state and the experience. At this point all they want is to win it.”

Outside hitter Ashley Newton is having a breakout season, averaging 3.8 kills per game. Newton, a sophomore, said increased practice has helped this year.

“I think I learned to love the sport this summer,” she said. “You have to be aggressive and jump high and follow-through. I’ve gotten better at everything.”

Also leading the team is Herman, who averages a team-high 1.1 aces a game, and junior Amanda Wellman, an all-around player who leads the team in digs and is second in kills and aces.

The girls have the advantage of growing up in the sport together. Most of Lake Mead’s players were teammates on the school’s middle school team.

“It’s easy for us to play together and depend on each other,” Wellman said. “I feel like we’re more of a family than a team.”

The biggest obstacle for Lake Mead will be Southern League rivals Pahranagat Valley, a perennial powerhouse and defending state champions. Lake Mead defeated Pahranagat Valley twice in a preseason tournament, a feat not taken lightly by the players.

“That was a huge deal because even in junior high they usually beat us,” Newton said.

However, Lake Mead lost 3-0 to Pahranagat Valley in a league game on Oct. 3. The girls have not been playing their best volleyball since, losing two of its last three contests.

“We have had ups and downs this season,” Wellman said. “We really need to get that chemistry back.”

Newton had a career-high 29 kills as Lake Mead beat division foes Tonopah 3-2 on Oct. 18 to stay in second place in the Southern League behind Pahranagat Valley.

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].