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Truckee, North Tahoe volleyball | Former foes square off in first Mount Rose League match

Sylas Wright
Sierra Sun
Sylas Wright/Sierra SunNorth Tahoe senior Emily Ashbaugh plays against Truckee on Wednesday. Truckee won the match in straight sets.
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TRUCKEE, Calif. and#8212; Truckee defeated visiting North Tahoe in three games, 25-13, 25-18, 25-16, Wednesday night in the first-ever Mount Rose League matchup between the former rivals.

While the defending 3A champion Wolverines never trailed en route to running away with the first set, the Lakers took early leads in the final two games and#8212; and looked to be gaining confidence and#8212; before Truckee powered out to take the win.

and#8220;We set a goal to improve our offense, and we tried to work on some different things, so it was nice to play a team that kept us on our toes,and#8221; said Truckee head coach Erika Murphy, whose Wolverines improved to 19-4 overall and 1-0 in the new Mount Rose League.



The first-year league was created by the NIAA along with the Lahontan and Ruby Mountain leagues to reduce travel costs for schools. The Mount Rose League contains the Tahoe-area schools, including Truckee and North Tahoe and#8212; former league rivals before the Lakers dropped from the 3A to the 2A in 2007 and#8212; as well as 2A members Incline and Whittell and the 3A’s South Tahoe and Sparks.

Once the postseason begins, however, the 2A and 3A teams break out into their respective league tournaments.



Wednesday’s contest was not to be mistaken for a heated, North Tahoe-at-Truckee rival matchup of the past, as less than half the gym was filled with spectators, and few of them were students.

Truckee took control early, using its strong offensive attack to steadily pull away for the easy win in the opening set. But the Lakers didn’t give in, jumping out to leads of 2-0 and 4-1 in the second game before the hosts came back to tie the score at 8-8, then slowly extend it to 25-18.

Tom LeFevers, head coach of the Lakers, said his girls gained confidence as the match wore on and they achieved some positive results for their efforts.

and#8220;Truckee is state champ, so I think our girls came out thinking it was going to be scary, and it wasn’t,and#8221; he said. and#8220;I don’t think they know how good they are yet, and that’s my job is to get them to realize how good they are.and#8221;

North Tahoe again took an early lead in the third game, racing out to a 5-1 advantage before Murphy called a timeout to refocus her team. The Wolverines came back after the timeout to tie the score at 9-9. They went on to outscore the Lakers 16-7 down the stretch to seal the win.

and#8220;They have some good players,and#8221; Murphy said of the Lakers. and#8220;and#8230; I think they stepped up a little more in the second and third games when they got more comfortable with the gym and their surroundings.and#8221;

Truckee junior outside hitter Krysta Murphy posted eight kills for the Wolverines, while Annie Reiswig and Kiersten Knoppel finished with seven kills apiece. Senior setter Jillian Akers tallied a team-high 19 serves to go along with her 16 assists, and Brittany Thomas had 15 serves and five aces. Knoppel and Allison each had one block.

For the Lakers (2-11 overall), senior Emily Ashbaugh led the way with eight blocks and five kills. Alexa Andrews finished with four kills, and Tara Turpin had two kills and one ace.

and#8220;I actually enjoyed this match because we started talking a lot more, and I think that helped us play much better,and#8221; said North Tahoe senior setter Iren Rojas. and#8220;It was a fun match. They (Truckee) are a good challenge.and#8221;


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