4A quarterfinals
Crimson Cliffs 3, Mountain View 2
Crimson Cliffs coach Jennifer Waters admits she thought her team was likely done down 2-0 in the 4A quarterfinals on Monday night. The energy level just wasn’t there needed to be against Mountain View.
A few defensive adjustments though and a renewed spirit, and No. 5 seed Crimson Cliffs is now head to the semifinals. The Mustangs overcame that early hole against No. 4 seed Mountain View to rally for the 14-25, 12-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-12 victory.
“The girls weren’t playing the game they usually play. I think they just shifted their mental thoughts to like, ‘Hey, I want to play to win instead of not lose.’ And then their energy went up, and then they started playing their game,” said Waters, whose team improved to 5-1 in five-setters this season.
None of those involved a comeback from a two-set deficit though.
A strategic defensive shift played a big role in the comeback.
“We talked to our blockers and tried to take away the area that we saw those hitters hitting at, and then the defense is able to just sit in those pockets and pick up balls that hit directly at them so and they’re and they’re just such scrappy players,” said Waters.
Grace Sam Fong came up huge defensively with six blocks to go along with her five kills.
Audrey Stratton added 13 digs along with 22 assists and seven kills. Jessi Maxfield chipped in with 14 kills and a .238 hitting percentage.
Orem 3, Hurricane 0
Top seed Orem is two wins away from a third straight 4A state championship.
The Tigers eased past No. 9 seed Hurricane in the 4A quarterfinals at UVU on Monday night for the 25-11, 25-15, 25-19 victory.
Junior outside hitter Haven Michaelis had another big game for the Tigers with 13 kills, with Reyn Fuller and Madi Scott combined for 15 more kills.
“I think it’s a work in progress, like we’re still that team that’s chasing progress more than perfection,” said Orem coach Bill Sefita.
“That’s one thing that we have to remind ourselves of, is that we’re not trying to play a perfect match, because I feel like then a lot of unsatisfaction will come from that, but just to play and always learn from every play.”
Orem came out with a great mentality in the first two sets to jump out to the early lead.
“In the first two sets we just asked our girls to take care of the ball. One, it starts with our serves, the way we serve the ball, move ball across the net. And then if they’re in system, then let’s just play hard defense,” Sefita said.
“If they’re out of system, we already know. We’ve been practicing those a lot in practice so, and that’s what we talked about, it’s like we’ve done the work, so let’s just depend on our knowledge and our competency.”
In the third set, Orem fell behind 6-1, but after a timeout quickly regained momentum to advance to Tuesday’s 4A semifinals at 11:45 a.m. at UVU.
Isa Esparza had a strong game serving in the win for Orem with three aces.
Green Canyon 3, Provo 1
Green Canyon coach Madison Larsen wasn’t too worried when her team dropped the first set against Provo in the 4A quarterfinal on Monday.
She felt her team committed an uncharacteristic amount of errors in that opening set, and even though they made it close with a late push, the hole was too big.
Just as Larsen expected, the third-seed Wolves found a groove the rest of the way, winning three straight tight sets to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals with the 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 victory.
“I was super proud of the resilience. I thought the first set we had a really bad start. We caught ourselves in a hole. They fought towards the end, but we were down too far to actually make the comeback,” said Larsen.
“I just really liked the mindset that they came in with the rest of the sets, and just being ready to start strong and battle hard and respond better than we did.”
Green Canyon advances to Tuesday’s semifinal against No. 2 seed Desert Hills with the victory.
Junior outside hitter Avery Fauth came up big for Green Canyon with 20 kills and a .421 hitting percentage, with Kiera Birch adding 15 kills and a .481 hitting percentage. Audrey White chipped in with 17 kills.
As a team, Green Canyon finished with 14 blocks.
Larsen was proud of the way her players stayed poised in those tight, late-set moments after going down 1-0.
“We’ve been focusing on that a lot and just focusing on this moment right here, doing a lot of mental training, and it was fun to see them just take a breath and be able to go execute and trust themselves and trust their teammates and take that point just for what it is,” said Larsen.
Desert Hills 3, Ridgeline 0
There was a looseness with the way No. 2 seed Desert Hills played in Monday’s 4A state tournament, and it’s a big reason the Thunder are moving onto the semifinals.
Annie Gilmore smacked 17 kills and Presley Decker added six aces to power the Thunder past No. 7 seed Ridgeline for the 25-14, 25-17, 25-13 victory in the 4A quarterfinals at UVU on Monday night.
“These guys just play so good when they are relaxed and kind of laughing and playing on the court and just enjoying each other,” said Desert Hills coach Craig Allred.
“I feel like sometimes when they do that, they lose track of the bigness of the moment and just have fun. And it really is a great way for them to be able to play at the state tournament because I think that’s sometimes hard because you get in this environment and it’s tense.”
Desert Hills got any jitters it had out in the first-round win over Park City, and it made quick work of Ridgeline in the semifinals with Jayla Ybright coming up clutch with 32 assists.
“The second (match), I felt like we kind of got going a little bit playing more of what we’re capable and where we want to be going in. Obviously once you get to state tournament everybody is really, really good. I thought we did a good job of pushing towards the end and finishing strong,” said Allred.
Desert Hills fell behind early in the third set, but regrouped quickly to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal at 11:45 a.m.
4A second round
Orem 3, Uintah 0
In a dominant display in the first round of the 4A second round, top-seeded Orem swept No. 16 Uintah 3-0 with set scores of 25-11, 25-15, 25-15. Haven Michaelis led the charge with eight kills, with strong support from Callie Eudis, who added seven kills. Madi Scott contributed significantly from the service line, notching five aces to aid Orem’s victory, pushing their record to 21-3 on the season.
Crimson Cliffs 3, Sky View 0
No. 5 Crimson Cliffs dominated No. 12 Sky View in straight sets, winning the 4A playoffs matchup 3-0 with set scores of 25-19, 25-14, and 25-16. Ellie Andreason led the Mustangs with 11 kills, while Jesi Maxfield and Audry Stratton added nine and eight kills respectively. Stratton and Sadie Halvorsen each contributed four aces to the Mustangs’ commanding performance.
Hurricane 3, Cedar City 1
Olivia Prete led No. 9 Hurricane with 15 kills and five aces as the Tigers outlasted No. 8 Cedar City 3-1 in the 4A second round. After dropping the first set 25-17, Hurricane rallied to win the next three sets, 25-22, 25-22, and 25-23. Graci Fox contributed 13 kills, helping the Tigers secure the victory.
Mountain View 3, Mountain Crest 0
No. 4 Mountain View advanced in the 4A Playoffs with a decisive 3-0 victory over No. 13 Mountain Crest. Jaycee Carlson led the Bruins with 16 kills, while Mehani Suguturaga and Keilani Wesley added nine and eight kills respectively. The Bruins dominated each set, winning 25-14, 25-17, and 25-19.
Green Canyon 3, Snow Canyon 1
No. 3 Green Canyon topped No. 14 Snow Canyon in the second round of the 4A state tournament at UVU on Monday night with a 3-1 victory. Green Canyon secured the match with set scores of 25-11, 25-13, 17-25, and 25-23. The Wolves were led by Audrey White, who dominated with 18 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Keira Birch contributed significantly with 8 kills, a .375 hitting percentage, and 10 digs, while Avery Fauth added six kills while hitting .364.
Provo 3, Pine View 1
Provo’s Nevaeh Magalei powered the Bulldogs with 23 kills and 16 digs to push past Pine View in the second round of the 4A playoffs Monday night at UVU After dropping the first set 25-22, Provo rallied to take the next three sets, 25-12, 25-21 and 25-10. Lexi Carter contributed significantly from the service line with 13 points, as the Bulldogs outlasted the Panthers. Meliana Chrisman also made notable contributions with a .333 hitting percentage, helping Provo secure the 3-1 victory and advance in the playoffs.
Desert Hills 3, Park City 0
No. 2 Desert Hills swept No. 15 Park City in a dominant victory in the 4A second round at UVU on Monday evening, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23. Annie Gilmore led the Thunder with 16 kills, while Presley Decker contributed 12 kills and four aces. Setter Jayla Ybright was crucial in the win, tallying 30 assists. Desert Hills advances to face the winner of the No. 7/No. 10 seed game in the quarterfinals.
Ridgeline 3, Dixie 1
No. 7 Ridgeline capitalized on a balanced offensive attack to secure a 3-1 victory over No. 10 Dixie in a 4A second round match at UVU. Despite dropping the third set 25-13, the Ridgeline RiverHawks prevailed in the other sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-16) to advance. Brynlie Cornia and Lily Madsen each delivered a dominant performance with 12 kills, with Cornia also adding three aces. Junior middle blocker Wren Bingham contributed 10 kills, while Sophie Larsen orchestrated the offense with 18 assists.