The sign of a great team is the ability to overcome challenges and show resiliency. Mountain View is proving early this season it is a great team. Despite falling behind early Tuesday night at Pleasant Grove, the Bruins rallied to take control of the match in a 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 sweep over the Vikings.
The Bruins found themselves trailing 7-0 in the first set before scoring their first point, but never panicked. After slowly crawling back into the set, Mountain View recorded its first lead of the night at 21-20 and rode that momentum to a first-set victory.
It was also that momentum that carried the Bruins in sets two and three, taking early leads and controlling each set on their way to the sweep. Mountain View was led by senior Lucy Perez, who finished the night with 10 kills, six aces and hitting .391%.
“It takes us a second to get going, but once we get into a groove, we are unstoppable,” said Perez.
Unstoppable is a great way to describe the Bruins’ serving. Mountain View finished with 13 aces as a team and had the Vikings’ defense on their heels all night from the service line.
“We will be that kind of serving team all season long,” coach Dave Neeley said. “We weren’t as good of a serving team last year as we were two years ago, but this year is going to blow the past two years out of the water.”
Despite the match being played at Pleasant Grove, the Bruin faithful showed out, especially the student section. Standing directly behind the Mountain View side, the chants and cheers helped lift the Bruins whenever they felt the momentum starting to slip away.
“They are so loud,” said Perez. “They are cheering us on, and whenever we are in a funk, they are right there behind us.”
“It’s one of my favorite things about being the coach here,” added Neeley. “Our school, all the way from the administration down to the teachers and every student totally adopted this volleyball team as their team.”
That support will go a long way for Mountain View as it looks improve after two straight second-place finishes in the state tournament. A difficult nonregion schedule will also prepare the Bruins in their quest for a state title.
After knocking off defending 6A state champion Lone Peak and now Pleasant Grove, Mountain View will prepare to host Sky View, Idaho, and later battle with Bishop Gorman High, one of Nevada’s top volleyball teams.
“We have high goals and we want to be able to play the best teams to try and accomplish those goals,” said Neeley. “This is a group of seniors that won the state championship, and then after two years of being there but not scoring the final point, they certainly want to get back there.”
His senior star agrees.
“We all hated the feeling of coming in second the last two years, and we just don’t want to ever feel that again,” Perez said. “We know we can beat these good teams, so we know we are more than capable of winning a state championship.”