By James Hernandez 

The College of Southern Nevada opened up the 2018 season on Friday afternoon in one of three matches they participated in during the annual Lady Coyotes Volleyball Classic.

Mesa Community College was the opening match opponent for our Lady Coyotes and both teams wasted little time renewing acquaintances, after matching up in this same tournament one year ago. Each team was active from the beginning, scrapping and clawing to gain the edge in a back and forth opening set. The Thunderbirds took advantage of the Coyotes early, scoring five straight points to take an early 9-3 lead. Southern Nevada fought back, however it was not enough as Mesa held on to claim the opening set 22-25. CSN regrouped to mount a valiant battle in the second set, tying it on three different occasions until they finally bowed out 25-27 in what turned out to be the most competitive set of the entire match. Mesa was firing on all cylinders in the third set, leading by as many as 10 points (22-12) before putting the Lady Coyotes away by a final tally of 19-25, claiming the match in straight sets (22-25,25-27,19-25), to hand CSN its first defeat of 2018. Match standouts for your Lady Coyotes included Lexi Riggs (12 kills) Maya Hill (3 blocks) and Kaylee Wilcox (26 assists, 10 digs).

The competition got stiffer in a hurry for Southern Nevada as they matched up with arguably the most talented team in the field in game two, the Glendale Community College Gauchos. The Gauchos have some of the best talent in the Grand Canyon state and will certainly be in the mix to claim the 2018 ACCAC crown. CSN matched GCC point for point throughout an opening set that saw nine ties and several lead changes before the Gauchos edged out the Coyotes 22-25 in an exciting opening set. Southern Nevada once again answered the bell in set two, staying right with the Gauchos all set, even knotting things up 17-17 midway through. Glendale was able to outlast CSN 19-25 to take a 2 sets to zero edge in the match. With set three once again knotted up 17-17, the Gauchos outscored the Lady Coyotes 8-4 down the stretch to claim the final set 21-25 and the match in straight sets (22-25, 19-25 and 21-25). Standouts for your Lady Coyotes in match two of the season were Rachel Chambers (7 kills, 2 blocks), Carlee Becker (10 assists, 3 Aces, 7 Digs) and Jacquie Yapching (8 Digs, 2 Aces).

The final match of the weekend featured your Lady Coyotes hosting the East Los Angeles College Mustangs. CSN used its athleticism and quickness to gain an advantage in the opening set and used that momentum to claim the opening set of the match 25-19. Set two saw much of the same, however Southern Nevada established itself as a presence at the front of the net as well. The team's height gave ELAC problems all set, allowing the Lady Coyotes to cruise to a 25-18 set two victory. East Los Angeles picked itself off the mat and rallied to outlast CSN in set three 25-27, cutting the Coyotes lead in half. Set four saw a refocused group of Lady Coyotes put the finishing touches on the Mustangs ,25-17. Southern Nevada claimed its first match victory of the 2018 season (25-19, 25-18, 33-35, 25-17) and equally as important earned new head coach Chris Vergnaud his first victory as head coach at CSN.

Fans your Lady Coyotes will be in the Grand Canyon state this weekend to battle in the 2018 Yavapai Volleyball Tournament. For match times, upcoming opponents and updates all tournament long log onto www.csncoyotes.com or follow us on Facebook CSNCoyotes and Twitter @CSN_Vball.