The Mountain Crest Mustangs finally came full circle.
Powered by the 12-kill effort of Shanda Hart, Mountain Crest claimed the 4A state volleyball championship with a hard-fought 15-12, 15-13 victory over Spanish Fork at Utah Valley State College on Saturday.The title is the first for the Mustangs since 1995. Mountain Crest finished third in 1996 and second last year before taking the the gold trophy home again this year.
"This is one of the best groups I have ever had," said Mustangs coach Lori Karaghouli, whose team finished the season a perfect 25-0. "They pulled together and worked their guts out to get here."
Mountain Crest advanced to the finals by defeating top-ranked Highland 15-10, 15-8 in a rematch of last year's championship match. Highland's star hitter Logan Tom injured her left ankle in the first game and had to sit out the rest of the match, which hurt the Rams' chances for a third-straight championship.
The win only boosted the confidence of the Mustangs going into the title match.
"It was our big goal all year to go all the way and not let anyone step in front of us," said Mustang senior Jeanette Crosbie, who finished with eight kills. "We just worked together as a team."
Spanish Fork found its way into the title game by defeating Bountiful 15-6, 15-4 in the semis to set up a final between two evenly matched teams.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the first game, Mountain Crest used a pair of 5-0 runs to take a comfortable 12-5 lead. The Mustangs then turned into their own worst enemy as five hitting errors helped Spanish Fork climb to within 14-12.
But after a timeout, Crosbie slammed home a kill that gave Mountain Crest the first game.
Showing their equal strength, the two teams combined for 13 sideouts in the second game before Spanish Fork finally broke the drought. A pair of kills by Hart gave Mountain Crest a 6-3 lead and the momentum.
But after an elbow injury to Spanish Fork's Jenny Dietz, the Dons rallied back to take a 9-8 edge after a kill by Kim Treanor.
Follwing a 4-0 run by Mountain Crest, the Dons used a block and a kill by Natalie Kidman to cap a 4-0 run of their own and take a 13-12 lead.
A kill by Christie Heers and a pair of hitting errors by Spanish Fork then put the championship back in the Mustangs' hands.
"We were really close. I don't think we could have been more evenly matched," said Spanish Fork head coach Kathy Treanor. "I couldn't be more proud of my players."
Erin Cartwright had seven kills and Heers finished with 28 assists for Mountain Crest.