Region 9 volleyball: Good night to be a favorite as top teams win

Written by Darren Cole
October 7, 2016
File photo of Pine View vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The top three teams all added a notch in the win column in Region 9. Only one game separate Desert Hills and Pine View, setting up a very important match on Oct. 18th. Below are game summaries of Thursday night’s matches:

Pine View 3, Snow Canyon 1

Pine View stayed one game back from the top spot in region by taking down the Lady Warriors in four sets 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22.

pine-view-logosnow-canyon-logo“Tia Hunt served great tonight,” said Pine View head coach Kelly Murdock. “She sealed the first set for us and had a great impact in the other sets. Cydnee McGuire also played strong. We got a good passing game from Kiara Rivas. Cassidy Murdock was solid setting. We still need to eliminate our unforced errors and clean up our service. Eliminating those errors would make us very strong.”

Pine View's Kayleigh Swensen (13), Pine View vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View’s Kayleigh Swensen (13), Pine View vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

McGuire led the Lady Panthers with 16 kills and four service aces. Murdock led all players with 40 assists. Rivas and Aubrey Hendrickson led Pine View with 26 and 22 digs, respectively.

“We played hard tonight,” said Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick. “It was a fun back and forth match. Unfortunately we were not able to push it to a fifth set. We are still dealing with the loss of Ally Dunston. So even though we are more than halfway through region play, we have had to do some refiguring to find our best lineup.”

Sammi Johnston led the Lady Warriors with 13 kills and six blocks. Camryn Johnson had 19 assists. Cami Utley and Hallie Remund led the team with 16 and 15 digs.

Pine View moved to 6-1 in Region 9 and to 18-8 overall. The Panthers will travel to Dixie on Tuesday night. Snow Canyon fell to 3-4 in Region 9 and 5-12 overall. The Warriors will travel to Hurricane on Tuesday night.

Desert Hills 3, Hurricane 0

The Lady Thunder traveled to Hurricane and swept the Lady Tigers 25-13, 25-9, 25-6. Desert Hills has been dominant this year in region play going undefeated and winning 21 of 22 sets.

desert-hills-logohurricane-logoCharity Bradley and Rachel Winters again set the pace in kills with 16 and 12, respectively. Madison Clark and Jessica Harris had six apiece. Winters and Bradley also led the team in digs with 16 and 15. Katelyn Taylor also had double-digit digs with 12. Hailee Harmer dished out 35 assists. Winters led the team with three service aces while Harris led with three blocks. As a team Desert Hills had a .425 attack percentage.

“Overall, we played well together,” said Thunder head coach Jill Swaney. “I was pleased, especially with our passing game. It really makes a difference when we pass well. We are improving with every match.”

Hurricane was without head coach Content Marshall tonight, who was at the hospital with her daughter Mackayla.

“The girls are working hard and continue to fight each match, despite the adversity the team has gone through this year,” said Tiger assistant coach Franci Homer. “That says a lot about their character.”

Desert Hills improves to 7-0 in Region 9 and 19-7 overall. The Thunder will travel to Cedar on Tuesday night. Hurricane fell to 0-7 in region play and 2-13 overall. The Tigers will host Snow Canyon on Tuesday night.

Dixie 3, Cedar 1

The Lady Flyers beat Cedar in four sets 25-18, 26-28, 25-20, 25-18. Dixie setter Brooklyn Wright had 38 assists and again spread the wealth. Aspen Bair and Risha Tiatia had 12 and 11 kills respectively. Brynn Eardley, Tyler Stilson and Ella Burrows all had seven kills apiece. Bair and Stilson also led the team with 11 digs apiece.

dixie-logocedar-logo“The girls are working hard,” said Dixie head coach Stacy Leavitt. “Our team chemistry is improving with each match.”

For Cedar, the Weaver sisters, Japrix and Dream, led the team in kills with eight and six. Four players had double digit digs-Dream Weaver (17), Kyliee Field (12), Shaun Bauman (12) and Kyley Beatty (11). Field also led with 21 assists. Katelyn Armstrong led the team with three blocks.

“We got good production from the Weaver sisters,” said Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin. “Japrix had great execution on offense and Dream played amazing defense.”

Dixie took sole possession of third place in region with a 4-3 record. The Lady Flyers moved to 10-6 overall. They will host Pine View on Tuesday night. Cedar fell to 1-6 in region and 8-9 overall. The Lady Reds will host Desert Hills on Tuesday night.

REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1. Desert Hills 7-0 (19-7)
2. Pine View 6-1 (18-8)
3. Dixie 4-3 (10-6)
4. Snow Canyon 3-4 (5-12)
5. Cedar 1-6 (8-9)
6. Hurricane 0-7 (2-13)

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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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