Region 9 volleyball: PV, D-Hills win, ready for 1st place showdown

Written by Darren Cole
September 22, 2016
Dixie's Shawnee Jones (9), Pine View vs. Dixie, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Sept. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE  —  Pine View and Desert Hills both won Thursday night to set up a showdown between the two undefeated region teams next Tuesday. Snow Canyon also won, rebounding from their sole loss to Pine View on Tuesday in five sets. Below is a summary of each of the games played Thursday night in Region 9:

Pine View 3, Dixie 1

Pine View was looking to stay undefeated and keep pace with Desert Hills. A big hurdle laid in wait in the form of the Lady Flyers from Dixie. It took four sets, but the Lady Panthers prevailed, 25-19, 25-21, 14-25, 25-20.

pine-view-logodixie-logo“We played pretty scrappy and had good energy in the sets we won,” said Pine View head coach Kelly Murdock. “Cydnee McGuire (14 kills, 28 digs) played great again and Aubrey Hendrickson (8 kills, 14 digs) had some key kills tonight.

Pine View's Amelia Goebel (19), Pine View vs. Dixie, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Sept. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View’s Amelia Goebel (19), Pine View vs. Dixie, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Sept. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Emily Lantor had great service (4 service aces) and Amelia Goebel was a blocking force (4 blocks). Cassidy Murdock also played a solid game tonight (31 assists). It feels good when we play to our potential.”

Dixie head coach Stacy Leavitt said her team just got beat in this road match.

“Pine View simply outplayed us tonight,” she said. “They made plays when we didn’t. Our hitters need to step up and get the job done. Brooklyn Wright played well. She hustled and showed great leadership tonight.”

Wright led Dixie with 28 assists. Kelsey Terry led the team with six service aces.

The Lady Panthers move to 15-7 overall and 3-0 in Region 9. Pine View will host Desert Hills in a battle for first place in Region 9. The Lady Flyers fall to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in region play. Dixie will host Snow Canyon on Tuesday night.

Desert Hills 3, Cedar 0

The Lady Thunder got the momentum early Thursday night against Cedar and never let it go. Desert Hills had swept all of its region opponents and Cedar joined the list, going down 25-7, 25-14, 25-8.

desert-hills-logocedar-logoRachel Winters and Madison Clark combined for 40 service attempts. Winters had nine service aces while Clark accounted for four. Charity Bradley led the Thunder with 10 kills. Winters also led the team with seven digs. Hailee Harmer had 19 assists.

Desert Hills dominated the third set and took a 17-2 lead before substituting liberally at the end. The backups also fared well, closing out the match 8-6. Elisa George served out the match with two of her final three serves also coming up aces.

“I really liked the way we served tonight,” said Thunder head coach Jill Swaney. “When we are in sync with our serving and passing, it really makes a difference. Rachel Winters and Madison Clark did a great job hitting their areas.”

For Cedar, team captain Kylie Field led the team with 11 assists. Kyley Beatty had five kills. Dream Weaver led the team with seven digs.

“We had a good game plan coming in,” said Field. “We did our best to hit the ball to their weak spots. We are pretty young this year, but our youth is improving very quickly.”

“I was happy with how well Dream Weaver held our defense together,” said Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin. “Kylie Field has shown great leadership this season keeping our younger players focused and positive.”

The Lady Thunder move to 15-7 overall and 3-0 in Region 9. Desert Hills will travel to Pine View in a battle of region unbeatens next Tuesday. The Lady Reds drop to 7-6 overall and 0-3 in Region 9. Cedar will host Hurricane on Tuesday night.

Snow Canyon 3, Hurricane 0

The Lady Warriors bounced back from their heartbreaking five-set loss Tuesday to sweep Hurricane 25-16, 25-22, 25-20. Ally Dunston led the team in digs (10) and service aces (6). Sammi Johnston led the team with 15 kills. Camryn Johnson had 27 assists.

snow-canyon-logohurricane-logo“The loss to Pine View Tuesday night still stings,” said Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick. “The girls bounced back and played well tonight. Sammi Johnston played with her usual skill and ability on the outside. Ina Fakahua did great hitting out of the middle (7 kills) and Maddi Esplin passed very well from the libero spot.”

Again the two teams joined together and played the game for Hurricane head coach Content Marshall’s daughter, McKayla, who is battling cancer. The teams wore “Pray for Kay” shirts.

“Our girls played well,” Content Marshall said. “We made some adjustments after the first set and started hitting more of our serves.”

Kansas Lytle and Sierra Davis led the Lady Tigers with 10 and 7 kills, respectively. Hailie Homer led the team with 14 assists. Hollie Isom had 14 digs.

The Lady Warriors improve to 4-9 overall and 2-1 in Region 9. Snow Canyon will travel to Dixie on Tuesday. The Lady Tigers drop to 2-9 overall and 0-3 in the region. Hurricane will play at Cedar on Tuesday night.

REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1t. Desert Hills 3-0 (15-7)
1t. Pine View 3-0 (15-7)
3. Snow Canyon 2-1 (4-9)
4. Dixie 1-2 (7-5)
5t. Cedar 0-3 (7-6)
5t. Hurricane 0-3 (2-9)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, 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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