High school girls volleyball: Corner Canyon outlasts Skyridge to take 6A championship

After getting knocked out in the semifinals of the state playoffs the last two years, No. 3 Corner Canyon finally was able to make it over the hump and to the top, defeating powerhouse and top-seeded Skyridge in four sets 25-21, 25-23, 14-25, and 25-14 in the 6A championship game on Thursday.

“I’m just proud of this team for playing together as a family. They’re playing for each other, and that’s exactly what we have been waiting for all season, and it started clicking the last week and a half or so right before state,” said Chargers head coach Mindy Ricks.

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Corner Canyon came out focused and energized Thursday, matching Skyridge’s intensity from the start. The Chargers went toe-to-toe with Skyridge, answering every run the Falcons tried to mount.

After dropping the first two sets in somewhat surprising fashion, Skyridge showcased its dominance and began to play like itself again in the third set, going on a 9-0 run to take the set.

“Skyridge is an excellent team. We’ve played really good teams leading up to this moment, and so it was just knowing that we had done everything we could in practice leading up to this to be prepared and having that confidence walking in that we could leave it on the court, win or lose,” said Ricks.

While they may have dropped their first set of the tournament, it certainly was not a moment to panic for the Chargers. They knew that if they just continued to rely on each other and play for each other, they would be able to pull off victory.

“We just reiterated how we need to play for each other and that it’s not about me, it’s about we and playing together as a team, how we can make someone else look good on the court and to try to find the best way to build someone else up,” Ricks said.

For Corner Canyon, the belief that this could really be its year was there from the very beginning. After coming up just short of the championship game the last two years, Ricks knew since Day 1 of this season that this year’s team could have something really special.

“I knew the very first day of tryouts, just watching the girls come in ready to play and ready to work. We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the season, and every single time we’ve had the kids show up the next day ready to go,” said Ricks.

“Battling through the adversity and the challenges and seeing how they start playing for each other is exactly what we needed.”