ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon volleyball team won twice this week, the second victory being a back-and-forth five-set win over the previously unbeaten Desert Hills on Thursday night at Snow Canyon.

The Thunder remain in first place in the region standings, while Snow Canyon moved into a tie for third place with Crimson Cliffs, which also won both of its games this week. Following are short recaps of this week’s contests:

Thursday’s games

Snow Canyon 3, Desert Hills 2

In the biggest upset of the Region 9 schedule to this point, Snow Canyon took down Desert Hills, handing them their first loss of Region 9 play.

The Warriors stunned the Thunder in the first set, winning 25-12, but the Thunder bounced back to take the second set 25-13. The last three sets would be tight, with the game going into the fifth and final set.

Snow Canyon outlasted Desert Hills, beating them 16-14 to win the match.

Coming off her biggest game of the year, Desert Hills’ Kami Bliss had 20 kills in a losing effort but did not hit at the same high percentage as she did earlier in the week. Ellie Chase also added 16 kills for the Thunder.

It was a big week for Snow Canyon, as they also beat the second ranked Cedar Reds, giving the Reds their second loss in region play before proceeding to knock off Desert Hills.

Snow Canyon will be on the road next week, playing Pine View and Crimson Cliffs. With some momentum building, watch out for Snow Canyon as they climb up the Region 9 rankings.

Desert Hills hopes to bounce back next week against the second ranked Cedar Reds before ending the week at Pine View.

Crimson Cliffs 3, Dixie 1

Crimson Cliffs started the game off strong, winning the first two sets, but the Flyers would bounce back to win the third. The game would go into the fourth set, with Crimson Cliffs winning the set and the game. The score was 25-22, 25-16, 19-25, and 25-12.

Chloe Bunker and Lydia Lindquist led the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs in kills with 15 and 11 respectively. Allie Laub provided support on defense with 27 digs for Crimson Cliffs.

Dixie plays the two Cedar City teams next week: Canyon View at home, and Cedar Reds on the road.

Crimson Cliffs will start the week at Hurricane and then play Snow Canyon in an away game to end the week. This will be a big week for the Mustangs, as both teams they are playing next week are clumped together in the Region 9 standings.

Hurricane 3, Pine View 1

The Tigers overcame the Panthers on the road in four sets, 25-21, 25-12, 21-25, and 25-19. In their first meeting of the season, Hurricane swept Pine View.

Next week, Hurricane plays back-to-back home games against Crimson Cliffs and Canyon View.

Pine View will start the week at home against Snow Canyon, then go on the road against the No. 1 team in the region, Desert Hills.

Cedar 3, Canyon View 2

At Canyon View, the Cedar Lady Reds came from behind to defeat the Falcons in five games. Cedar won the first game 25-19, but Canyon View came back to win the next two, 25-16 and 25-18. Cedar came back to win the fourth game 25-19, then clinched the match with a 15-12 win in the fifth and final game.

Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin said she was proud of her team for making the comeback.

“That was the mindset we were working on this week, and we showed today that we could come back,” Anglin said.

Canyon View head coach Monica Jensen also said she was proud of how her players played.

“They picked it up, they played aggressive,” she said. “They played strong against Cedar, and Cedar is a good team.”

Both coaches said they hoped to carry some positive momentum heading into the second half of the season.

Anglin said she’s happy her team will finally be able to play at home starting next week. Because Cedar’s gymnasium floor was being refinished, the Lady Reds have played their first seven games on the road and will now play the second half of the season at home.

“We’re so happy to be home (next week),” Anglin said. “We’re exhausted.”

— written by Jeff Richards

Tuesday’s games

Crimson Cliffs 3, Canyon View 0

At Canyon View, the Mustangs defeated the Falcons in three straight, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-10. Ashlynn Koeberle, Lydia Lindquist and Chloe Bunker led Crimson Cliffs’ balanced attack with eight kills apiece, while setter Sydney Wahls racked up 27 assists.

In both of the first two games, timeout was called with the score tied at 17-17, after which the Mustangs finished strong and put the Falcons away.

“Sometimes, in their head, they get caught up in all the negative things,” Crimson Cliffs coach Alexa Mansfield said of her players. “I tell them (during the timeouts), you’re doing awesome, you’re doing great. Let’s take this point.”

— written by Jeff Richards

Dixie 3, Pine View 1

The Dixie Flyers beat the Pine View Panthers on Tuesday in four sets, 25-14, 19-25, 25-18, and 29-27.

Savannah Cazier led the Flyers with 14 kills, and when they needed a big point, Cazier was the main target.

Read the complete game coverage here.

Desert Hills 3, Hurricane 1

The Desert Hills Thunder continued their domination of Region 9 as they took down the Hurricane Tigers in four sets at home.

The Thunder fed senior Kami Bliss throughout the game, as she finished with 64 attempts and 32 kills. Bliss only had six attack errors, giving her a stellar .406 hitting percentage. She leads the region in kills and is 40 ahead of the second name on that list, while also being third in the state in kills.

Julia Jacobsen and Ellie Chase also added eight kills each to help Desert Hills get the win.

Snow Canyon 3, Cedar 2

At Snow Canyon, the Cedar Reds and the Snow Canyon Warriors battled it out, as the highest margin of victory out of the five sets played was only three points. The Warriors prevailed at home, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24, 22-25, and 15-13.

Katie Langford had a huge night, with 25 kills on 50 attempts and a team high of 11 digs.

Cedar City News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this story.

Region 9 volleyball standings (as of Sept. 27)

1. Desert Hills 7-1
2. Cedar 5-2
3. Snow Canyon 5-3
4. Crimson Cliffs 5-3
5. Hurricane 4-4
6. Canyon View 2-6
7. Dixie 2-6
8. Pine View 1-7

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