3A State Volleyball: D-Hills only Region 9 team to make semifinals

Written by Darren Cole
October 27, 2016
Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

OREM – And then there was one. After the first two rounds of the 3A state volleyball tournament Wednesday at Utah Valley University, Region 9 has only one team left in the winners bracket.

Desert Hills' Rachel Winters (7), Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Rachel Winters (7) with the block, Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Desert Hills had no trouble disposing of its first two opponents. The Lady Thunder are in the semifinals with two other No. 1 seeds, Park City and defending champion Morgan. Union slipped in as a No. 2 seed with a quarterfinal victory over North Sanpete.

Dixie performed as expected, winning its first game and then losing in four sets to defending champion and No. 1-ranked Morgan in the second round. The surprise of the evening came with Pine View. Though the Lady Panthers had the lower seed, they were ranked slightly higher than their first-round opponent, Union, but fell in four sets. Snow Canyon’s season is complete with two first-round losses. Below are the results of day one of the Utah 3A Volleyball Tournament:

First Round Games

Desert Hills 3, Tooele 0

The Lady Thunder swept Tooele in the first round 25-10, 25-16, 25-21. The last part of the last set saw many junior varsity players get some playing time. Charity Bradley and Rachel Winters had 10 kills apiece. Hailee Harmer and Jessica Harris had four service aces apiece. Katelyn Taylor led the team with 10 digs.

Snow Canyon's Sammi Johnston (11), Snow Canyon vs. Park City, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Snow Canyon’s Sammi Johnston (11), Snow Canyon vs. Park City, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Park City 3, Snow Canyon 0

The Lady Warriors drew a very good Park City squad in the first round. The Lady Miners swept Snow Canyon 25-12, 25-11, 26-24. Sammi Johnston led the team with 10 kills. Camryn Johnson dished out 18 assists and led the team with 12 digs. The team had seven blocks with two apiece from Johnston, Ina Fakahua and Hallie Remund.

Dixie 3, Stansbury 1

Dixie beat Stansbury for the second time this season, this time in four sets 25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 25-9. Tyler Stilson led the team with 13 kills. Brooklyn Wright had 25 assists. Kelsey Terry had 11 digs. Shawnee Jones had eight kills and seven service aces. “We had some first match jitters,” said Dixie head coach Stacy Leavitt. “The girls worked them out and got back on track.”

Union 3, Pine View 1

Union took Pine View out of the winners bracket in four sets 25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23. Though Union had the higher seed, the Lady Panthers were ranked slightly higher and the loss was considered a mild upset. It seemed that Pine View had regained its form with a dominant third set. But in the fourth the Panthers found themselves down early 15-6. They made a furious comeback and tied the game at 18 but the gas ran out and Union closed on a 7-5 run to close out the game.

Pine View's Emily Lantor (24),Pine View vs. Union, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View’s Emily Lantor (24),Pine View vs. Union, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Quarterfinals/Winners Bracket

Desert Hills 3, Juan Diego 0

The Lady Thunder swept a very good Juan Diego team 25-12, 25-7, 25-9. Desert Hills had an incredible attack percentage (.425). Bradley and Winters led in kills with 19 and 12. The two also led the team in digs with 15 and 18. Harris had a great game with eight kills and led the team with four service aces and four blocks. Harmer led the team with 35 assists.

“It was a solid day,” said Desert Hills head coach Jill Swaney. “Things fell into place as we executed what we practiced coming into state. Tomorrow should prove a little more challenging as we head into the semis. But we are feeling good and we are ready to compete.” The Lady Thunder will play their first match against Park City Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

Morgan 3, Dixie 1

Against Morgan, the Lady Flyers hit a .308 percentage and still came up on the losing end. Stilson and Brynn Eardley had eight and six kills, respectively. Ella Burrows had a team high six blocks. “The girls stayed disciplined on attack selection,” said Leavitt. “We struggled with first receive and service in the first two sets. We reversed that in the third set and got the win. We could not maintain the momentum. Ella Burrows put up a very strong wall against a very good attacking team. I was proud of her performance.” The Lady Flyers will play Thursday at 11 a.m. Their opponent will be North Sanpete. With two more wins Dixie will finish fifth.

Dixie's Brynn Eardley (23), Dixie vs. Stansbury, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie’s Brynn Eardley (23), Dixie vs. Stansbury, 3A State Volleyball Tournament, Orem, Utah, Oct. 26, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Second Round/One-Loss Bracket

Juab 3, Snow Canyon 1

Juab knocked out the Lady Warriors with their second loss in as many games, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24. Snow Canyon had the lead late in both of the final two sets, but Juab was able to overcome and close the games. Snow Canyon’s season is complete. “Unfortunately, our season came to an end earlier than we hoped it would,” SC coach Ryan Rarick said. “We struggled with consistency as evidenced by our up and down performance in both matches today.”

Pine View 3, Logan 0

The Lady Panthers won in straight sets over Logan. Pine View rebounded from an earlier disheartening loss to Union. Pine View will play Stansbury Thursday at 11 a.m. The Lady Panthers will still have a chance to compete for the sixth place game.

Other matches:

First-round
Juan Diego 3, Richfield 1
Ridgeline 3, Juab 1
Morgan 3, Canyon View 0
North Sanpete 3, Logan 0

Quarterfinals/Winners Bracket
Park City 3, Ridgeline 0
Union 3, North Sanpete 2

Second Round/One-Loss Bracket
Richfield 3, Tooele 1
Stansbury 3, Canyon View 0

3A State Tournament Bracket

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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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