Region 9 volleyball: Thunder, Flyers both win to stay tied at the top

Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – With the first half of region play in the books, no teams were left unscathed. The first-half standings almost played out to how the teams were polled in the preseason. Dixie and Desert Hills are at the top. The only difference halfway through is Snow Canyon comes in at third, ahead of Pine View. Canyon View and Cedar are each a game behind the Lady Panthers with Hurricane still looking for its first region win.

Below are summaries of Thursday night’s action:

Desert Hills 3, Hurricane 0

Hurricane traveled to Desert Hills still looking for its first region win to face a team tied atop the standings. The first set, the Lady Tigers played the host team even to 16-16 before Desert Hills took control of the set. That momentum carried through the final two sets.

The Lady Tigers held an 8-7 lead in the first set. London Gubler had two kills and a service ace in the early going to pace Hurricane. Desert Hills’ Allie Beck then had two kills and a service ace consecutively to put the Thunder up 10-8. From that point on, the Thunder never trailed at any time in the match. The Tigers did battle back to tie the first set at 16-16. Desert Hills was able to get a side out on a Kamryn Bliss block and three straight service aces from Beck. Saselah Goulding then scored for DHHS with a dump shot on the set to give the Thunder a 21-16 advantage.

Hurricane’s London Gubler (18), Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Allie (Beck) has played tennis the last two years,” Goulding said. “We are so happy she decided to return and play volleyball this year. She has really been a key part of our team.”

Gubler got another kill to stem the tide, but the Thunder went on a 4-2 run to close out the set. The final two points came on a kill from Elisa George and a service ace by Andie Sonju.

In the second set, Desert Hills jumped out to an early 8-3 lead. The Lady Thunder maintained that lead to 13-8. Then Desert Hills went on another run. Madi Clark had two service aces and Beck came through with two more kills to move the lead to 18-8. A side out and a service ace from Abbie Elison pulled the Tigers to 18-10, but that was as close as Hurricane would get. Desert Hills would close the set with a 7-3 run, ending with a kill from Bliss.

In the final set, Desert Hills held early 4-0 and 7-1 leads. Three service aces from Andie Sonju (2) and Clark (1) paced the Thunder in the early going of set three. Hurricane had moments of great play. Hailey Homer and Jeanette Cram both had kills, but when Hurricane head coach Content Marshall called her first time out of the third set, the lead was still 12-6.

Desert Hills’ Elisa George (8), Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Sept. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The lead reached double digits when Halle Sonju served an ace to put the score to 17-7. Goulding’s service ace put the Thunder at match point. But the Thunder would have to earn it. Homer had another kill and Thunder attack errors gave Hurricane two more points before the match ended on Halle Sonju’s kill.

For the Thunder, Beck and Andi Sonju had five service aces apiece. Beck led the team with nine kills. Clark and Goulding had six apiece. Goulding and Andie Sonju had 11 and 10 assists, respectively. Hallie Sonju led the team with 18 digs. Clark also had double-digit digs with 11.

“We don’t have any players that stand out,” said Desert Hills head coach Sharon Christensen. “We like it that way. All six girls filling their roles and doing it very well.”

Individually for the Tigers, Homer and Elison had six service aces apiece. Kena Carter and Cram had five apiece. Gubler led the team with six kills. Alexis Martin led the team with 10 assists. Bryn Erickson, Homer, Martin and Carter had four blocks apiece. “We have been battling illness this past week,” Hurricane head coach Content Marshall said. “The girls are still playing tonight but not as well as they could be if they were 100 percent.”

Desert Hills improves to 5-1 in Region 9 and 11-10 overall. The Lady Thunder will travel to Cedar on Tuesday. Hurricane falls to 4-10 overall and 0-6 in region. The Lady Tigers will travel to Dixie on Tuesday night.

Dixie 3, Canyon View 0

The Lady Falcons had the scheduling gods against them as they had to face the top two teams in the Region 9 standings back-to-back. After losing to Desert Hills Tuesday night, Canyon View had to travel to the Hangar and face a Dixie team coming off its first region loss. The Lady Flyers came away with the sweep, 25-13, 25-22, 25-22.

After a lopsided first set, Canyon View gave the Lady Flyers a battle in the last two sets.

“We struggled defensively in the first set,” Canyon View head coach Monica Jensen said. “We came out crisper and with more intensity in the second and third sets. Even though we lost, I think our girls played hard and improved.”

For Dixie Ella Burrows and Shawnee Jones led the team with eight kills apiece.

Individually for Canyon View, Malia Vasi led the team with seven kills and 10 assists. Lorient Colbert led the team with 12 digs and also had 10 assists.

With the sweep, Dixie improves to 5-1 in region and 10-3 overall. The Lady Flyers will host Hurricane on Tuesday night. Canyon View falls to 2-4 in region and 8-8 overall. The Falcons will have a bye on Tuesday. They will travel to Snow Canyon on Thursday night.

Pine View 3, Cedar 2

Pine View traveled north and escaped Cedar with a five-set win, 23-25, 25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 15-6.

“When we can keep our momentum going, we are dangerous,” said Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin. “The skills are there. We have the talent. When we lack confidence or willpower, we suffer. We need to keep the intensity up to stay consistent. We build off really great intensity.”

For Pine View, Amelia Goebel and Emily Lantor had nine kills each. Saraven Allen and Addi Mikkelson had seven apiece. Celeste Fiame and Teuila Leung Choi had two service aces apiece.

Individually for the Lady Reds, Japrix Weaver and Jaidi Willden had nine and eight kills, respectively. Denim Henkel led the team with 22 assists and five service aces.

The Lady Panthers improve to 3-3 in Region 9 and 17-8 overall. Pine View will host Snow Canyon on Tuesday night. Cedar falls to 2-4 in Region 9 and 8-8 overall. The Lady Reds will host Desert Hills on Tuesday night.

REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1. Dixie 5-1 (10-3)
1. Desert Hills 5-1 (11-10)
3. Snow Canyon 4-2 (8-8)
4. Pine View 3-3 (17-8)
5. Canyon View 2-4 (8-9)
5. Cedar 2-4 (8-8)
7. Hurricane 0-6 (4-10)

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

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