Region 9 volleyball: Thunder finish region perfect; Dixie clinches 2nd

Written by Darren Cole
October 20, 2016
Snow Canyon's Kate Derrick (6), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 20, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Desert Hills finished its Region 9 season with a perfect 10-0 record Thursday night by sweeping Snow Canyon, dropping just two games in the 10 region matches.

Meanwhile, Cedar recorded an upset over Pine View on the final day of region play. While the victory did not change the slate of teams invited to the state playoffs, it did vault Dixie (a straight-set winner over Hurricane) into sole possession of second place in region. The Lady Panthers drop to the three seed.

The final state rankings have three Region 9 teams in the top five. Desert Hills trails defending state champion Morgan from Region 11 in the second spot. Dixie and Pine View are fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Park City from Region 10. Below is a recap of Thursday night’s games:

Desert Hills 3, Snow Canyon 0

The Lady Thunder completed region play unbeaten and barely challenged. In its final tuneup for the state tournament, Desert Hills swept the Lady Warriors 25-9, 25-12, 25-19.

desert-hills-logosnow-canyon-logo“It is always bittersweet finishing region play,” said Desert Hills head coach Jill Swaney. “It never disappoints how strong Region 9 volleyball is. Our team played a solid, well-rounded match tonight. We are now focusing on staying sharp going into the state playoffs.”

Desert Hills' Hailee Harmer (2), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 20, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Hailee Harmer (2), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, Utah, Oct. 20, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

As a team, Desert Hills had a .392 attack percentage and totaled 19 service aces. Individually for the Thunder, Charity Bradley and Rachel Winters led with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Katelyn Taylor led with 14 digs. Winters and Bradley had 13 digs apiece. Winters and Madison Clark both recorded five service aces. Hailee Harmer had 32 assists.

“The girls had an emotional night for senior night,” said Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick. “Seven great girls played their last match at the Jungle. The emotion affected us a little at first and we were slow out of the gate. The scores don’t necessarily show it, but each point was heavily contested. We fought hard for every point. I have been waiting for that — fight and desire – for the entire match. Tonight we brought that.”

Sammi Johnston led the Lady Warriors with seven kills. Camryn Johnson led the team with eight assists. Hallie Remund (9), Cami Utley (8) and Johnson (7) led the team in digs.

The Lady Thunder finish atop Region 9 at 10-0 and 22-7 overall. Desert Hills will begin the state tournament with a match against the No. 4 team from Region 10, Stansbury. Snow Canyon finishes 4-6 in region play and 7-19 overall. The Lady Warriors finished fourth in Region 9 and will face the No. 1 team from Region 10, Park City. Both games are scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Cedar 3, Pine View 0

Cedar put a wrinkle in the Lady Panthers quest to finish with the second seed in Region 9 by sweeping Pine View, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21.

cedar-logopine-view-logo“We had a phenomenal defensive game plan and great execution offensively tonight,” said Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin. “Setter Kylie Field directed the offense in a productive way and used all her options Kately Armstrong consistently hit through the block and led the team with positive energy. Everyone did their job and stayed focused on the end result.”

Indvidually, Armstrong led the Lady Reds with nine kills and four blocks. Denim Henkel led Cedar with 19 digs. Dream Weaver also had double-digit digs with 13. Field led the team with 27 assists.

For Pine View, Emily Lantor had seven kills. Cassidy Murdock led PV with 22 assists, while Kiara Rivas had 12 digs and Addyson Mikkelson got 11 digs.

Cedar finishes 2-8 in Region 9 and 9-12 overall. The Lady Reds season is complete. The Lady Panthers fall to 6-4 in region and 18-11 overall. With the loss, Pine View finishes Region 9 in third. The Panthers will face Union, the No. 2 seed from Region 10 at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 26. One benefit to the drop in seeding is that the Lady Panthers will not have to face top-ranked and defending champion Morgan in the second round. The opening game will be played at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Dixie 3, Hurricane 0

Dixie swept the Lady Tigers to jump ahead of Pine View and finish second place in Region 9, 25-12, 25-10, 25-18.

dixie-logohurricane-logo“Our girls played well tonight,” said Dixie head coach Stacy Leavitt. “Brooklyn Wright did very well running the offense.

Individually, Wright spread the ball on the attack. Tyler Stilson, Shawnee Jones, Brynn Eardley and Risha Tia Tia all finished with five kills. Grace Bown led the Lady Flyers with six aces.

“It was a rough night,” said Hurricane head coach Content Marshall. “It is hard to say goodbye to such amazing seniors.”

For Hurricane, Kansas Lytle and Jaiden Smith recorded five and four kills, respectively. Hailey Homer had 11 assists. Sierra Davis had two blocks.

The Lady Flyers end the season 13-6 overall and 7-3 in region play. Dixie finished as the No. 2-seed in Region 9. The Flyers will begin the state tournament with a match against Tooele, the No. 3-seed from Region 10. Hurricane drops to 1-9 in Region 9 and 3-15 overall. The Lady Tigers’ season is complete.

FINAL REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1. Desert Hills 10-0 (22-7)
2. Dixie 7-3 (13-6)
3. Pine View 6-4 (18-11)
4. Snow Canyon 4-6 (7-19)
5. Cedar 2-8 (9-12)
6. Hurricane 1-9 (3-15)

State Tournament info: 3a-bracket (pdf)

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

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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