Region 9 volleyball: Warriors tighten standings with upset of Dixie

Dixie vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 19, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Snow Canyon rattled the Region 9 standings with a win on the road against the first-place Flyers. Desert Hills and Cedar made it a clean sweep for the visiting teams as they traveled to Canyon View and Hurricane. Below are game summaries of Tuesday night’s action:

Snow Canyon 3, Dixie 2

It was back and forth for most of the night between the Flyers and Warriors. But in the end, Snow Canyon snapped its two-game losing streak and pulled out the win over Dixie, 20-25, 25-15, 12-25, 25-22, 15-12.

It was supposed to be the initial matchup between the preseason Region 9 co-Players of the Year, Sammi Johnston of Snow Canyon and Tyler Stilson of Dixie. But Stilson suffered an injury last week and had to sit this one out.

Snow Canyon’s Sammi Johnston (11), Dixie vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 19, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“In the fourth set against Pine View, she came down funny,” Dixie head coach Stacy Leavitt said. “She was not in pain and thought that she could still play, but we pulled her out for precautionary measures. The next morning, she went to get it checked out.”

Stilson has torn ligaments in her knee.

The absence of the star did not lessen the intensity of the Snow Canyon-Dixie matchup.

“We knew she was out,” said Snow Canyon’s Hallie Remund. “They are still dangerous with their other attackers. But we felt we could beat them with or without her.”

Set one saw neither team lead by more than three points until late in the game. Shawnee Jones got Dixie out to a 10-7 lead with her service, but Snow Canyon bounced back quickly. After a side out, Shaylee Harris delivered three straight service aces to give the Warriors an 11-10 lead.

The Flyers again built a lead. Ella Burrows’ service ace pushed the lead past three for the first time at 18-14. Johnston nearly pulled the Warriors even with a tip kill, a service ace, and another kill, before Dixie got a side out. Snow Canyon would pull to within two twice more on kills by Remund, the last time 22-20. But after a side out, Burrows delivered a big kill. Then Dixie libero Halle Anderson ended the set with a service ace.

Dixie’s Byrnn Eardley (23), Dixie vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 19, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

In the second set, the teams battled to 4-4 before Snow Canyon went on a run behind the service of Eliza Gibson. She got two aces and the Warriors jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Dixie pulled within one at 12-11, but some unforced errors and three kills by Remund put Snow Canyon back up 20-15. The Warriors then closed out the set with five straight points. Sophie Robinson started the run with a kill. Gibson added a service ace. And Savannah North and Robinson closed out the set with a collective block.

In the third set, the teams battled to 6-6 before Dixie went on an 8-0 run. Snow Canyon committed six serve-receive errors during the run, forcing Warrior head coach Ryan Rarick to call a timeout. The advantage proved too costly, however, and when Eardley had three straight service aces, Dixie’s lead was 22-11. The Flyers went on to score three of the last four points for the win.

In the fourth set, Snow Canyon jumped out to a 4-2 lead before Dixie made a run. With Eardley serving, Dixie went on the attack. Lauren Beatty started the run with a kill and the run ended with four straight kills from Burrows.

Snow Canyon clawed back and then went on a 4-0 run with kills from North and Lizzy Rowland to tie the game at 13-13. Eardley had two kills to give Dixie a two-point advantage and the Flyers would hold a 1-2 point lead to 22-20. The Warriors then scored the last five points. They took the lead on Johnston’s kill and the set closed out an attack error and a passing error by Dixie.

Snow Canyon’s Eliza Gibson (7), Dixie vs. Snow Canyon, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 19, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Snow Canyon carried the momentum into the fifth set, opening up leads of 5-0 and 7-1. The Flyers did not quit and pulled to within two at 10-8, forcing Rarick to take a timeout. The Flyers stayed close, but could not close the gap. They did come to within a single point, 13-12, but North got a side out for the Warriors with a big kill and match point came on a lift call against the Flyers.

“I was nervous the whole night,” North said. “I was so happy to see that final kill stay in bounds. We needed this win tonight after our last two matches.”

Individually for the Flyers, Burrows led the team with 19 kills and nine blocks. Brynn Eardly had 15 kills, 10 digs and led the team with seven service aces. Shawnee Jones had 20 digs and nine kills. Libero Halle Anderson had 27 digs.

For Snow Canyon, Johnston led the team with 15 kills. Addie Tauanuu and Gibson led the team with 15 and 13 assists, respectively. Gibson also led the team with four service aces. Johnston and Jael Wilde led the team with 18 and 16 digs, respectively.

“We made a huge step forward tonight in gutting out a tough five-set victory at the Hangar,” Rarick said. “Dixie does an excellent job of creating an exciting atmosphere for volleyball. They are a tough, disciplined team and they taught our girls a few lessons tonight. We made a lot of substitutions tonight. Three seniors, Kasi Heath, Raquel Harrison and Shayla Harris, that see spotty playing time but show up to practice every day and make sacrifices for the good of the team, made huge contributions tonight. We would not have won without them.”

Snow Canyon moves to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in region play. The Lady Warriors will have a bye date on Thursday. They will play at Pine View one week from today on the Sept. 26. Dixie stays atop Region 9, though now they have company as Desert Hills won to keep pull into a tie. The Lady Flyers fall to 4-1 in region and 9-3 overall. They will host Canyon View on Thursday night.

Desert Hills 3, Canyon View 0

The Lady Thunder got stronger and stronger as their match with Canyon View went to the second and third sets. The Falcons were swept 25-19, 25-16, 25-8.

“We started strong and played well,” Canyon View head coach Monica Jensen said. “But we lost momentum as the match went on.”

For the Thunder, Madi Clark and Andie Sonju had five and four service aces, respectively. Clark and Kami Bliss led the team with four blocks apiece. Andi Sonju and Saselah Goulding each had 14 assists. Allie Beck and Kylee Christensen led the team with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

Individually for Canyon View, Malia Vasi led the team with five assists. Kaylee Hopkins had three service aces. Jordan Nielson had three kills.

Desert Hills moves into a tie for first with the win at 4-1 in region. The Lady Thunder are 10-10 overall and will host Hurricane on Thursday night. Canyon View drops to 2-3 in region and 8-8 overall. The Lady Falcons will travel to Dixie on Thursday.

Cedar 3, Hurricane 1

The Lady Reds got their second win in region play at Hurricane in four sets, 25-9, 25-20, 26-28, 25-22.

“We had a great overall passing game,” Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin said. “It allowed us to run an efficient offense in the first two sets. We had some errors in the passing game in the third set. We were able to come back after being down seven late, but still lost the set. We are working on recognizing the hills and valleys and trying to eliminate the valleys.

“We played great as a team. Denim Henkel had a nine-point run on a service in set one. Japrix Weaver and Jaidi Willden led in kills and Bailee Fielding led the team in blocks. Shaun Bauman was very efficient in serve-receive passing.”

For Hurricane, London Gubler led the team with 10 kills. McKena Carter and Jeanette Cram had nine apiece. Carter also led the team with six blocks. Alexis Martin dished 30 assists.

“We fought back after losing the first game,” Hurricane head coach Content Marshall said. “We pushed through some tough volleys and pulled out the third set. I felt good about how the girls played. Alexis did amazing. London, McKena and Jeanette played great. We just need to pull everything together now.”

Cedar improves to 2-3 in region and 8-7 overall. The Lady Reds will host Pine View on Thursday night. Hurricane falls to 0-5 in Region 9 and 4-9 overall. The Lady Tigers will travel to Desert Hills on Thursday.

REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1. Dixie 4-1 (9-3)
1. Desert Hills 4-1 (10-10)
3. Snow Canyon 4-2 (8-8)
4. Canyon View 2-3 (8-8)
4. Pine View 2-3 (16-8)
4. Cedar 2-3 (8-7)
7. Hurricane 0-5 (4-9)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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