Cheyenne High School senior Hunter Perkins pulverized 13 kills and seven aces while posting a 68.4% kill rate and 63.6% ace rate to lead the Desert Shields to a 3-0 road rout of the Canyon Springs Pioneers on Friday, April 24.

Cheyenne’s Blake Thompson got the Desert Shields started with a couple of blocks, as Jaden Ominga served effectively to take an 8-0 lead and force a Pioneer timeout. CSHS finally scored a side out at 13-1, but Cheyenne earned back service on the next point. The Pioneers took another timeout down 19-2. The first set was over quickly at 25-5. 

Canyon Springs started the second set strong, as Deun’Quay Coleman delivered a kill that made it 4-0. Cheyenne junior Dylan Laynes tied it at 7 with an ace, took the lead with another, and forced a timeout with a third consecutive ace. He had five on the night. CSHS sophomore Zaavea Wade blocked Perkins’ spike to tie it at 10, but Perkins served a series of aces to take control of the set at 17-11. The Desert Shields took the second set 25-13.

Cheyenne 6 found the open space for a kill to take a 3-2 lead in the third. A perfect pass from Ominga set up Perkins with a wide-open kill from the outside. He hit two more from the same spot with the same result to tie it at 7. Ominga dished 19 of the team’s 21 assists. The offensive efficiency of Cheyenne only improved from there, as Perkins served for the match after a Pioneer timeout. He smoked an ace to win it, 25-15.

“Unless it’s [match point] like that last one…I usually just try to put pace on the ball instead of trying to crush it all the time, because I’d rather be consistent than powerful. That’s kind of like my whole thing,” Perkins said.

“He’s been playing like that all season, basically. He’s been very dependable and has been racking up kills in pretty much every game,” commented Cheyenne head coach John Armstrong. “And it’s funny because everyone knows it. I mean, usually by the second set everybody already knows we go through him a lot, and even then he can put it past them.”

Perkins, as of this writing, ranks third in all of Nevada with 372 kills and a 49.1% hitting percentage, according to MaxPreps. Those statistics are some of the best in the nation, ranking 16th overall in hitting percentage and 36th in kills. Despite all this, Perkins has declined scholarship offers from multiple schools of varying levels to attend UNLV’s Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies.

“I had D2, D3, D4 offers, but for the program I want to do, I’m thinking journalism…I figured it would be better for me to go to UNLV. If I have time I would love to play for their club, but with what I want to do…I don’t know that I’d have the time,” said Perkins, adding later that finances played a big role in his decision stay in state, as the Nevada Broadcasting Foundation offers full-ride scholarships to qualified students in Nevada who pursue a journalism degree. He has his sights set on sports broadcasting but might double major. With the growth of college volleyball viewership and League One Volleyball (LOVB) entering its second professional league season, Perkins could have ample opportunities covering the sport he loves after graduation.

“I would love to continue volleyball…I love the sport so much, and I know a lot more than most. Even players who have played as long as me, some of them just don’t see the game as I do. They can be good, but they just don’t see it…but I’d love to do anything, whether that’s playing or coaching.”

The Desert Shields are 15-16 overall and 2-2 in league play. They’ll host winless Western (0-12, 0-2) on Tuesday, April 28 and Somerset Sky Pointe (16-13, 4-0) in what will be playoff-caliber competition and atmosphere for Senior Night on Thursday, April 30. Both games start at 6 p.m.