Wall Edges No. 3 Sonora; Water Valley Stuns No. 2 Benjamin at Nita Vannoy

SAN ANGELO, TX — It was an eventful opening day at the Nita Vannoy Memorial Volleyball Tournament on Friday with two state-ranked teams suffering losses.

Water Valley stunned No. 2-ranked Benjamin 25-15, 25-17 to hand the Lady Mustangs' their first loss of the season after a 7-0 start.

Benjamin went 36-8 last year and lost in the regional final.

Water Valley went 22-15 last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs, but that was in Class 2A. Now the Lady Cats are back in 1A.

Water Valley then beat Buena Vista 25-19, 25-13, but the Lady Wildcats had to settle for second place in their pool. Hawley, a 29-13 team last year, held off Water Valley 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 in the last match of the day.

In another feature match, 3A power Wall edged the No. 3 team in 2A, Sonora, in three sets. In a match that was competitive from start to finish, Wall survived for a 25-21, 24-26, 25-21 win.

It was a matchup of teams that each won more than 30 matches last year.

Wall went 32-12 last season and lost in the second round of the playoffs, while Sonora went 31-8 and also lost in the second round.

Both teams lost to a strong 4A squad in Andrews, which lost in the Nita Vannoy final last year to 6A San Angelo Central.

Central rolled in all three matches to begin its title defense. The Lady Cats defeated Clint Horizon 25-12, 25-13, then cruised past Levelland 25-10, 25-5 and Lubbock High 25-7, 25-13.

Bronte, the No. 8-ranked team in 1A, managed to avoid being added to the upset list in its opening match. The Lady Longhorns dropped the first set of their opening match before rallying past longtime rival Miles 21-25, 25-17, 25-17.

Bronte lost a 25-22, 20-25, 25-22 battle against Alpine in its next match.

Veribest won its pool despite losing a wild three-setter against Sterling City to end the day. Sterling City Eagles won the opening set 30-29 in a tournament where sets are capped at 30 points. Veribest took the second set 25-16, but Sterling City claimed a 25-21 win in the final set.

It caused a three-way tie for first place with Veribest, Sterling City and Fort Stockton, but it was Veribest that emerged with the points tiebreaker.

For a full list of tournament results, view our scores page here.