Thunder still sitting pretty after sweep of Pine View

Desert Hills' Kamryn Bliss (24), Pine View vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Oct. 6, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – There were only two Region 9 matches Friday night. Snow Canyon played Cedar earlier this week so they could travel north for the Claim Jumper tournament sponsored by Bingham High School. Dixie also took the trip. Tonight’s feature Region 9 match pitted the visiting Lady Thunder against Pine View. Hurricane also traveled to Canyon View. Below are match summaries of Friday night’s action:

Desert Hills 3, Pine View 0

The Thunder kept a tight grip on first place with a road sweep against Pine View 25-17, 25-19, 25-13. Desert Hills had a week to prepare as they had a bye on Tuesday.

“The girls were anxious to get back on the court,” Desert Hills head coach Sharon Christensen said. “From a coaching standpoint, it is nice to have a break if you need some injuries to heal. But we are healthy so we wanted to get playing again.”

The Lady Panthers played Desert Hills evenly through the better part of the first two sets. But each game, the Thunder would have a run that would seal the win in each set.

Desert Hills’ Kamryn Bliss (24), Pine View vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Oct. 6, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

In the first set, the teams were tied 9-9 when the Thunder got a side out and four more points on Andi Sonju’s service. Pine View head coach Kelly Murdock called a timeout to stem the Thunder momentum.

While the point streak ended, Desert Hills still incrementally added to its lead. Kylee Christensen’s service ace gave the Thunder an 18-11 advantage. Moments later, Kamryn Bliss’ block put the Thunder up 20-12. Allie Beck inched the lead further, 23-14, with a block of her own. The set ended on a Panther attack error.

Emily Lantor had some key plays to keep the Lady Panthers as close as they were in the first set.

The second set mirrored the first in that neither team could distance itself by more than two points from its opponent. Pine View’s last lead of the set was 14-13. The Thunder went up by three 18-15 on a kill by Elise George. Bliss blocked a Panther attack to give DHHS a 21-17 advantage. A tip-kill by Madi Clark gave the Thunder a side out and 24-19 advantage. Beck served out the match.

“We remembered how well they played us last time,” said Clark. “We took a set advantage and then they played us really tough in the second and third sets. We made sure that we stayed focused tonight.”

Set three saw the Thunder take a big early lead. The first four points came during Beck’s opening service. A kill by Panther outside hitter Saraven Allen and then a block by Amelia Goebel stopped the Thunder run, but the lead climbed to 8-3 before Coach Murdock called a timeout.

The Panthers did get a side out and then Goebel had a kill and a block to pull Pine View to within 8-6. Desert Hills responded with another 4-0 run behind Clark’s service. The lead then grew to 17-8. Addyson Mikkelsen scored on two straight blocks for Pine View, but three more points from the Thunder forced Murdock to call her final timeout, looking at a 20-10 deficit.

The Thunder closed out the set and the match on a 5-3 run.

Pine View’s Addisyn Mickkelson (10), Pine View vs. Desert Hills, Volleyball, St. George, UT, Oct. 6, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

For Desert Hills, Clark led the team with 10 kills and three service aces. George and Bliss had three blocks apiece. Andie Sonju and Saselah Goulding both recorded double-digit assists with 19 and 11, respectively.

Individually for the Panthers, Allen and Lantor led the team with nine and seven kills, respectively. Lantor and Celeste Fiame led the team with six digs apiece. Goebel led the team with six blocks and two service aces. Fiame led the team with 18 assists.

Since losing in straight sets to Dixie last month, the Lady Thunder have won six straight, including their rematch over the Lady Flyers.

“We are really playing much better as a team,” Goulding said. “Earlier in the season, we were playing more as individuals, not communicating. We are communicating better and gelling at just the right time.”

Desert Hills moves to 8-1 in Region 9 and 14-10 overall. The Lady Thunder will now face Snow Canyon in a rematch of their prior contest that went five sets. Desert Hills overcame three match points in the fourth set to tie the match and then won the fifth on the Warriors’ home court. Should Snow Canyon win, there could be a three-way tie at the top of the region standings.

“Snow Canyon played us very well last time,” said Christensen. “We will have to be playing our best against them next week.”

Pine View falls to 4-6 in Region 9 and 18-11 overall. The Lady Panthers will host Canyon View on Tuesday night in a key region match-up with playoff repercussions.

Canyon View 3, Hurricane 1

The Lady Tigers lost to Canyon View on the road 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18.

“We played hard tonight,” Canyon View head coach Monica Jensen said. “We communicated well and played together. Kaylee Hopkins had key serves and her passing helped us out tremendously tonight.”

Hopkins led the team with five service aces. Brielle Fullmer had 11 kills. Lorien Colbert led the team with 19 assists and 16 digs. Eowyn Colbert led the team with three blocks.

For Hurricane, Alexis Martin led the team with seven kills. Hailey Homer had 18 assists. Abbie Elison led the team with 19 digs. Homer, Jeanette Cram and London Gubler each had three service aces.

Canyon View slips into fourth place in Region 9 with a 4-5 record. CVHS is 10-10 overall. The Lady Falcons will now travel to Pine View in a matchup that will more than likely determine the final team to make the playoffs from Region 9. HHS falls to 0-10 in region and 4-14 overall. Hurricane will have a bye on Tuesday night. The Lady Tigers will play next at Cedar on Oct. 17.

Wednesday night’s game
Snow Canyon 3, Cedar 0

The Lady Warriors avenged their earlier loss to Cedar with a sweep on Wednesday night, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16.

“We had a strong performance tonight against Cedar,” Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick said. “Our girls were looking for some revenge after our loss against Cedar earlier in the season. Sammi Johnston bounced back from an off night against Hurricane last night and led the way tonight. She was nearly flawless in serve receive. Hallie Remund was strong for us out of the middle and our serve was tough for the second night in a row.”

Individually for the Warriors, Johnston led the team with 14 kills. Addie Tauanuu had 21 assists. Eliza Gibson had four service aces. Lizzy Rowland led the team with eight digs. Savannah North led the team with three blocks.

The Lady Warriors are participating in the Claim Jumper tournament this weekend. Region play resumes for Snow Canyon on Tuesday. The Lady Warriors will get a chance to avenge their other region loss with a trip to Desert Hills. The Lady Reds will travel to Dixie on Tuesday night.

REGION 9 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
1. Desert Hills 8-1 (14-10)
2. Snow Canyon 8-2 (12-8)
3. Dixie 7-2 (12-4)
4. Canyon View 4-5 (10-10)
5. Pine View 4-6 (18-11)
6. Cedar 2-7 (8-11)
7. Hurricane 0-10 (4-14)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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