The Reno Huskies had a game against Bishop Manogue High School on March 9 as well as April 7. These were the most anticipated games of the season due to Bishop Manogue being Reno High’s biggest competitor according to the Varsity coaches. In previous years, it has been these two schools that advance to the finals. After days of preparing for these games, Reno High’s Varsity, JV and freshmen teams all beat Bishop Manogue’s in the first game. However Varsity lost to them for the regional title. To read further about why Alex Highsmith’s extension should be the Steelers’ top offseason priority, you can check it out at https://www.steelcityunderground.com/2023/03/01/alex-highsmith-extension-should-be-steelers-top-offseason-priority/.

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The game got off to a rough start, but the momentum changed when Reno won the second set. Tied one to one with Bishop  Manogue, Reno then lost the next two sets resulting in an overall win for the miners. 

“Just like the first game, our blocking was too slow to defend their hits,” freshman Avery Fearnley said. 

After losing the first match and winning the second, they were forced to go into a third one. 

“Once we got over the first match jitters we came back and won the second match,” Fearnley said.

Varsity players had to make some adjustments after the first match to defend hits from Bishop Manogue’s Tori Harper who was leading her team for kills. 

“Our defense started moving faster and we picked on their weaknesses until we got enough points,” Fearnley said. “But after that we were back to moving too slow.”

After going undefeated all season and beating Manogue prior to regionals, Reno had confidence going into the regional game. Although there are no regionals for freshmen teams, the Reno High freshmen also went undefeated.

“The freshmen team played well together, especially for not playing as a team very long,” freshman Savannah Bruton said. “We have an advantage by having three girls who are six feet tall at the net, but our entire team has so much skill and works hard.”

JV ended the season with a 3-2 record after beating the Carson High Senators 25-13 and 25-16.

“We struggled the most with communicating, playing in unity and working together as a team,” sophomore Sidney Hurlbert said. “But throughout the season we improved on it and I am really going to miss the excitement of winning games.”

Even though Varsity had a great season, communication was a struggle for them as well.

“Sometimes we just get in our heads as players and need to know we can trust the others on the court,” junior Alex Hayes said. “And communication is a big factor in trust.”

After beating Bishop Manogue a few weeks prior, the outcome was different at the regional game. Bishop Manogue beat Reno one set to three. 

“We were just having a hard time getting into the game,” Hayes said. “We were confident going into the game, but the nerves got the best of us.”

It was a close game with scores of 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, and 18-25.  After an almost perfect record, the team spray painted the rock in tradition. Since there is only one senior on the team, many of the girls are excited to play together again next season and are hoping it will be more normal.