By DON McDERMOTT

PVT

Tonopah’s veteran volleyball team will be among the teams to watch in the Lady Trojans Invitational, which starts in Pahrump Friday.

There are 16 teams in the two-day event that will be contested in the Pahrump Valley high school gym and at Rosemary Clarke Middle School.

Tonopah, out of the Southern Nevada Class A League, went 5-1 in the Ely White Pine tournament last weekend, with the Muckers’ only loss to the host Bobcats 25-18, 16-25, 15-7 . The Muckers defeated Wendover 25-10, 25-11; Lincoln County 25-8, 22-25, 25-12; West Wendover 25-15, 25-13; Wells 25-16, 25-17 and Pahranagat Valley Alamo 23-25, 25-23, 15-11.

“The win over Alamo was great … just great,” said Judi Boni, the Muckers veteran coach. “We understand that Alamo will be going home and working hard, so we will have to work twice as hard” when the two teams clash in a league match late in the season.

The Muckers to watch? Middle hitters Sam Kimber and Deanna Van Poucke, along with setter Britney Klapper and outside hitter Amanda O’Donnell.

Tonopah will play in Pool C at Rosemary Clarke Friday, facing 2-A Las Vegas Calvary Chapel at 4 p.m., defending tourney champion Lake Mead Christian Academy at 6 p.m. and a 4-A rising power, Las Vegas Desert Oasis, at 7 p.m.

Desert Oasis won the Warrior Classic at Las Vegas Western High School last weekend, going 5-0. Western was 1-4, while Vo-Tech, also in the PV tournament, was 3-2 and placed fifth.

Teams will be divided into four different pools for Saturday’s round that determines seeding for two single-elimination bracket tournaments that start at 1:30 p.m. and end with the finals in each gym at 4:30 p.m.

Also in the tournament:

At the main gym:

Pool A — Pahrump Valley varsity, Indian Springs, Round Mountain, Vo-Tech.

On Friday, Pahrump Valley — 2-5 in the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational last weekend — will take on Indian Springs at 3 p.m., Round Mountain at 5 p.m. and Vo-Tech at 7 p.m.

The Jill Harris-coached Trojans are in a rebuilding mode and will use the tournament to build up momentum for a grueling Sunset Region Southwest Class 4-A Division campaign.

Round Mountain, another 1-A league and Nye County team, will take on Vo-Tech at 4 p.m. and Indian Springs at 8 p.m.

Pool B – Beatty, Overton Moapa Valley, Las Vegas Western, White Pine.

Friday, Beatty, out of the Southern 1-A league and coached by Dale Lerbakken, will play Moapa Valley at 3 p.m., Western at 5 p.m. and White Pine at 7 p.m.

At Rosemary Clarke:

Pool D — The Meadows, Laughlin, Las Vegas Mountain View Christian and the Pahrump Valley JVs.

PV’s JVs meet Mountain View Christian at 4 p.m., Laughlin at 6 p.m. and Meadows at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, when the pools are shuffled according to win-loss records, Pools W and X will play in the high school gym, while Y and Z go to RCMS.