Region 9 volleyball: Sweeps night as top three teams win in straight sets

Written by Darren Cole
October 7, 2015
Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Another night of Region 9 volleyball did nothing more than solidify positions. The teams at the top of the standings all swept their opponents, though none of the Desert Hills-Dixie sets were decided until the final moments.

Desert Hills 3, Dixie 0

Dixie stayed close with the Thunder through the first part of the first set. With the score tied at 15, Desert Hills made a 6-2 run to pull ahead. The Flyers played well, but were plagued with service errors in the first set, going down 25-20.

Desert-Hills-smdixie-smThe second set saw the Thunder jump out to a 15-10 lead, only to have Dixie claw back into it. Setter Brooklyn Wright served the Flyers back into another tie at 15. This time the teams would keep it tight to the very end. The Thunder showed their cool and closed out the tight game 27-25.

The final set again saw the teams stay close. Desert Hills took an early advantage and would not relinquish it until Dixie took a late lead in the match at 21-20. But the Flyers could not hold on as Desert Hills closed out the match on a 5-1 run.

Rachel Winters (7) with a spike for Desert Hills, Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Rachel Winters (7) with a spike for Desert Hills, Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“We had difficulties tonight with our passing,” said Desert Hills head coach Jill Swaney. “Much of that can be attributed to how well Dixie was serving and attacking. But there are some things we can improve on as well.”

Individually, outside hitter Rachel Winters led the Thunder with 18 kills. Desert Hills had five players with double digit digs led by Tierra Orr with 16. The others included Jennifer Harris (14), Katelyn Taylor (14), Hailee Tanner (13) and Winters (10). Tanner also led the team with 25 assists.

For Dixie, middle blocker DeAubrey Bowers and outside hitter Tyler Stilson had 10 and eight kills respectively. Libero Hannah Nyberg led the team with 18 digs. Wright had 27 assists.

“(Dixie) played very well tonight,” said Orr. “We started out sluggish and it seemed like they kept us on our heels most of the night. It was good to pull through that and still get the win.”

With the win, the Thunder move to 9-1 overall , 5-1 in Region 9. Dixie falls to 8-10, 3-4 in region. Desert Hills will host Pine View on Thursday. Dixie travels to Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon 3, Cedar 0

The Warriors swept visiting Cedar 25-9, 25-9, 25-13. Crash Parker had 17 kills, eight digs and four service aces. Nikenna Durante had seven service aces, five kills and five digs.

Camryn Johnson led the Warriors with 12 assists. Shaylee Reed had eight assists and six digs. For Cedar. Ashley Vanfleet led the team with seven kills. Hannah Williams and Fabi Young led the team with five and four digs respectively. Kylie Field had nine assists.

Snow Canyon moves to 7-0 and sits atop the Region 9 standings. Overall, they carry a 10-2 record. Cedar falls to 0-7, 7-10 overall. Cedar will host Hurricane on Thursday night. Snow Canyon will host Dixie.

Pine View 3, Hurricane 0

Pine View swept the Tigers in straight sets. For Hurricane, Carrie Marshall had eight kills and 10 digs. Pine View improved to 4-3 in region, 17-11 overall with the win and will host the Thunder Thursday. Hurricane will travel to Cedar. The Tigers fall to 2-10 overall, 1-6 in Region 9.

Region 9 Standings
Snow Canyon 7-0 (10-2)
Desert Hills 6-1 (9-1)
Pine View 4-3 (17-10)
Dixie 3-4 (8-10)
Hurricane 1-6 (2-10)
Cedar 0-7 (7-10)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Cole recently returned to sportswriting after a 20-plus year hiatus. While pursuing other studies, he developed an early passion for sports writing as a senior writer and sports editor for the Ricks College Scroll in 1988-89. Darren has spent the last 20 years writing legal memorandi and appellate briefs. In addition to his legal career, he has also taught legal and criminal justice courses at the university level for nine years as an adjunct professor. Darren is married to wife Lisa, has two sons and is a confessed sports junkie.

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