By Coach Lonnie Flippen
How ’bout them Pirates! The Junior High Lady Pirates closed out their first volleyball season in the past eight years with a big win over the 7th Grade Wink Wildcats. The Pirates came away winning two of the three matches in Wink on Tuesday, October 25th. Wink won the first game 25-20 and the young Pirates fought back to win the second game 25-14 and held off the Wildcats to win the third game 25-22.
It was the Valentine serving that came through in the end to allow the young ladies to end their season with a winning note. Eighth grader, Samantha Kuhlman had six aces in the three matches as well as serving an additional five points on balls that were not returned. Other Pirates who had aces included eighth graders Cecilia Corral with one and Jaymie Sanchez with one. Seventh grader, Nevaeha Mora had served one ace as well as sixth grader Jordan Miller. Other team members who served points for the Pirates included seventh graders Arleene Corral with one Bela Oldham with three. Others who contributed with outstanding defensive play included seventh grader, Mickie Siddiq and sixth grader Natalie Sanders
These young ladies made tremendous progress throughout the year. Keep in mind that none of the nine had ever played volleyball as a team. Coach Bianca Porras took these young ladies and molded them into a team that became more confident and more experienced as the season progressed. They became more competitive with each game and we hope that this is only the beginning for these young ladies as we feel that the sport of volleyball has returned, and can continue at Valentine ISD for several years to come as long as our numbers hold.
Congratulations to a group of young ladies, and their coach, for a successful and enjoyable season. Your progress, and your success, has created a great deal of pride in the school and in the community and we look forward to what the future holds in store. GO PIRATES!!!
