Pahranagat Valley determined to defend state title in girls volleyball

If a rose’s thorns make its smell that much sweeter, then Pahranagat Valley’s loss in the 2006 Class 1A girls volleyball state title match made the Panthers’ success in 2007 all the more rewarding.

Owyhee defeated the Panthers, 3-2, in 2006 after Pahranagat Valley took the match’s first two games. It was the first time Pahranagat Valley hadn’t claimed the 1A state title for volleyball in nine years.

“(The players) were disappointed in themselves; it wasn’t just the loss,” said Pahranagat Valley coach Ginger Whipple, whose team beat Owyhee 3-1 in the title match last season. “They knew that they had that title in their hands.”

Whipple doesn’t know exactly why her team fell apart against Owyhee in 2006 but explained that her 2005 squad had six seniors on the roster and laid some of the blame on herself.

As a coach, “you just use your seniors,” Whipple said. “Maybe (the loss) was because I didn’t take the opportunity to play my younger girls.”

Whipple isn’t making that mistake again. Though she will rely heavily on seniors Mary Higbee (setter), Molly Hansen (libero) and Chanae Kenning (outside hitter), Whipple said she’ll incorporate sophomore Dakota Day and freshman Hailie Lewis into her program relatively early to develop leadership and consistency.

 “We’re putting a lot of responsibility on a couple of young girls,” Whipple said. “We’ve got to test some things and see what we can do.”

But the only thing that the Panthers want to see at the end of the year is another state title. Anything less, Whipple said, would be a disappointment. She said that even with the title in their sights, when speaking to her players, she tempers expectations.

“We know it’s always possible (to lose), just like with our loss at state,” Whipple said. “You don’t win that many titles in a row and not understand that.”

But avenging the team’s 2006 loss has cleared doubts of success from her and the players’ minds.

Whipple said that the loss, in retrospect, might have been a good thing for her team, which has shown tremendous resolve this season and last.

“As hard as it was (to lose), it was probably a good thing to happen,” Whipple said. “Those bunch of girls were determined for it not to happen again.”