Yuma High School’s volleyball team will welcome the Sidney Red Raiders to town for the Outlaws’ home opener on Tuesday.
The Outlaws will take a 1-2 record the 2025 season’s first match in The Pit, after opening its season last Saturday in the Kit Carson Tournament.
“Sidney is always a strong team,” coach Jamie Nighswonger said, “so we are going to have to work really hard and together as a team to compete in that game.”
Yuma began the Kit Carson Tournament with a 25-23, 25-14 win over the Wiley Panthers.
The Outlaws served 90 percent in the win. Lindsey Hermosillo was 9-9 with two aces, Carolina Ross 8-8 with two aces, Taryn Sheffield 8-10 with three aces, Bailey Nighswonger 7-8 with one ace, Aubrey Black 6-6, and Lauren Gonzales 5-6. Nighswonger had nine setting assists and Black eight. Gonzales recorded seven kills, Sheffield five, Nighswonger five, Mariana Reyes two, and Black and Bryar Chrismer one each. Hermosillo and Gonzales led in digs.
The Outlaws faced a familiar foe in the next match, dropping a tightly-played three-setter to Akron, 24-26, 25-18, 13-15.
Sheffield had nine kills, Gonzales seven, Hermosillo four, Nighswonger three, and Reyes, Novalee Schuetz and Berkley Nighswonger one each. Bailey Nighswonger had 15 assists, and Black seven. Yuma served 93.5 percent. Gonzales was 17-18 with five aces, Bailey Nighswonger 15-15 with one ace, Black 8-8, Sheffield 8-8, Berkley Nighswonger 5-6 with one ace, and Hermosillo 5-7 with two aces. Sheffield and Hermosillo led in serve receive.
The day concluded with another three-set loss, 22-25, 25-9, 11-15 to Kit Carson.
Gonzales had six kills, Sheffield five, Bailey Nighswonger four, Berkley Nighswonger four, Chrismer two, Hermosillo two and Schuetz one. Black and Bailey Nighswonger each had eight setting assists, and Schuetz two. Sheffield was 18-20 serving with one ace, Bailey Nighswonger 12-14 with one ace, Chrismer 5-5 with two aces, Ross 4-4, Black 4-5, Gonzales 3-5, Hermosillo 2-2, and Berkley Nighswonger 2-3.
“I think we played well on Saturday at the Kit Carson tournament for it being the first games of the season,” Nighswonger said. “We saw definite things to improve on, such as our play out of system (when the setter doesn’t get the second ball), the connection between our setters and our hitters, and just overall confidence in finishing a game. All of that is what we are going to work on in practice this week.”