Although they were exhausted from a long week of Homecoming preparations and practice for the Powder Puff football game, the Mineral County High volleyball team weas able to fight through their fatigue and pull out a win against Pyramid Lake on Oct. 4.

The Lady Lakers and Lady Serpents (7-2) faced off in a double header in Hawthorne, and the Lady Serpents took the victory in both games, 2-0.

In both sets, the Lady Serpents came out strong and snatched an easy win in the first game, but seemed to lag a little in the second game.

“It seemed like the first game of both matches they played well, they got the win out of the way,” said coach Shelly Tweedy. “And it seemed like the second game of both matches, they struggled. They slowed down; the scores were really pretty competitive the second game for both matches.”

Tweedy said she isn’t sure why her team frequently flattens out after a win. In practice and between games during a match, she frequently asks the squad to “play a full game,” and isn’t sure why the team struggles so much after a typically easy win.

“I can’t explain it. It’s just like they’re never quite as competitive in the second game,” Tweedy said. “[…] We need to work on them playing a full game every game.

But despite the Serpents’ frequent midgame flatness, Tweedy said she was proud that her team managed to overcome the Lady Lakers.

“I’m proud they played through being tired,” she said. “I know everybody was extremely worn out.”

Tweedy went on to point out that most of the players on the varsity team are juniors and seniors, all of whom played in the Powder Puff game on Thursday.

“They were running pretty tired, so I was happy that they played well enough [to get a win] extremely tired,” she said.

The Lady Serpents will suit up next against Smith Valley on Oct. 11 in Hawthorne.