High school volleyball: 3A state tournament Day 1 recap, Union, Morgan, Emery, Manti advance to semifinals
3A quarterfinals
Manti 3, Canyon View 0
Manti and Canyon View split their two games during the regular season, but No. 5 seed Manti prevailed in the grudge match in the 3A quarterfinals in beating No. 4 Manti 25-23, 25-20, 25-1.
“We’re a very well-balanced team. We don’t really have an all-star. It’s just a bunch of really good girls who play well together as a team. And they give each other the credit. It’s a really unselfish team,” said Manti coach Aaron Smith. He thought defense was the key to the sweep at UVU on Wednesday.
“Defense just took over the game, picking up everything they could throw at us,” said Smith. Manti libero Cadee Alder had a big defensive effort, as did sophomore Addison Howell with a really important blocking game.
Emery 3, Delta 1
Top seed Emery got a bit of a scare early in its 3A quarterfinal with No. 8 seed Delta, but showed the necessary resilience to bounce back under tense circumstances for the 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-14 victory.
“The ability to bounce back and battle, and they’ve done that all year. And they’ve done that all year, get down a little bit and being able to come in and I appreciate that with them,” said Emery coach Ferd Allred. Emery even had a large lead in the third set, but Delta came all the way back to 24-23 before the Spartans finished it off.
Allred highlighted outside hitter Abby Morris for her strong hitting along with Kenadie Maughan for coming in and getting some big blocks during her rotation. “Delta’s a good team. They’ve got a couple of girls there who are just outstanding,” said Allred.
Morgan 3, Richfield 0
In a rematch of last year’s 3A state championship, No. 2 seed Morgan took care of business in impressive fashion as it swept No. 10 seed Richfield, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14.
“We got our offense going, we had some good defensive plays that set up our offense and we got some good swings today and I think that frustrates a lot of teams because we can go pin to pin and we’ve got a big middle,” said Morgan coach Liz Wiscombe.
Morgan freshman Jerstyn Payne was instrumental in many of those defensive plays as Wiscombe said she came up big with several tips and diving saves to keep the ball alive. Morgan advances to the 3A semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m. and will face No. 6 seed Union.
The schools have become good rivals in recent years, and Morgan swept both meetings this year. Wiscombe said energy will be the key in the semifinals.
“Energy. Keeping that positive energy. When we lose that we’re in trouble, but otherwise if we can keep that positive energy up we feel good about it,” said Wiscombe.
Union 3, Carbon 2
No. 6 seed Union showed tremendous resiliency in the 3A quarterfinals at UVU on Friday, twice going down a set to No. 3 seed Carbon, but rallying each time to tie it and then won it in five, 20-25, 25-17, 13-25, 25-22, 15-11.
Union advances to Friday’s semifinals to face No. 2 seed Morgan. Brylie Day came up huge late in the match for Union as she racked up 13 kills, many of them late. Rowen Weaver added 18 kills for the Cougars, with Sharlee Price chipping in with 16.
“It was a battle the whole match, we had to fight back. We had to really dig deep in that position,” said Union coach Chelsey Jones, who said her girls have been pretty resilient that way.
“We’ve tried to put them in those positions this whole season, give them a tough preseason schedule so they had to really battle and come from behind. I’m really proud of the grit they showed tonight,” said Jones. Brecklen Weaver also had a big game with 31 digs and six aces for Union.
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3A second round
Emery 3, Grantsville 0
Class 3A top seed Emery improved to 26-4 on the season as it swept No. 16 seed Grantsville for the 3A second-round win at UVU, 25-14, 25-15, 23-15. Coach Ferd Allred said Karleigh Stilson really controlled the game with her setting, while Abby Morris had a really strong game hitting for the Spartans, who advance to the quarterfinals to face Delta.
Delta 3, Summit Academy 0
Tennille Gonder recorded 21 kills, while Emily Johnson added four kills as No. 8 seed Delta took care of business in straight sets against No. 9 Summit Academy in the 3A second round, 25-14, 25-10, 25-16. Chloe Sharp also added three aces for the Rabbits in the win. With the victory, Delta advanced into the 3A quarterfinals to face top seed Emery.
Canyon View 3, South Summit 0
No. 4 seed Canyon View made quick work of No. 13 seed South Summit for the win in the 3A second round at UVU. Sophomore outside hitter Kinzlee Brindley had a big day hitting with 12 kills, with fellow sophomore Kambree Potter adding 10 kills. Libero Maylee Spencer played great defense for the Falcons has she passed for a 2.0. Canyon View advanced to the quarterfinals to face Manti with the win.
Manti 3, Juan Diego 0
No. 5 seed Manti swept No. 12 seed Juan Diego in the 3A second round on UVU on Wednesday, 25-15, 25-19, 25-15 to advance to the quarterfinals to face Canyon View. Coach Aaron Smith said senior Rae Chase hit the ball really well for the Templars, with senior setter Mara Thompson spreading the ball all round well to keep Juan Diego’s block off balanced all game. June Olsen also played well coming back from a sprained ankle to hit the ball well. Manti advanced to the quarterfinals to face Canyon View.
Morgan 3, Judge Memorial 0
No. 2 seed Morgan took care of business as expected in the 3A second round as it rolled past No. 15 seed Judge Memorial, 25-14, 25-14, 25-11. Senior middle hitter Liv Jaffa controlled the middle, with junior setter Emma Thurston passing very well. Gentry Criddle had a strong gave hitting as well for the Trojans, who advanced to face Richfield in the quarterfinals.
Richfield 3, Ogden 0
No. 10 seed Richfield used a 2.0 serve-receive average to beat No. 7 seed Ogden 25-16, 25-19, 25-20 for the 3A second round win at UVU. Abbee Albrecht led the Wildats’ attack with 14 kills, with Macie Barton chipping in with 10 more. Brielle Jolley played great defense in recording 29 digs, with Jordyn Bagley dishing out 39 assists with four aces. Richfield advanced to face No. 2 seed Morgan in the quarterfinals.
Carbon 3, Juab 0
No. 3 seed Carbon made quick work of No. 14 seed Juab in the second round of the 3A state tournament at UVU, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17. Madi Orth had a strong all-round performance as she recorded 16 kills and 21 digs, with Taylor Secor adding 11 kills. Sav Hurst passed the ball well with 31 assists. Carbon advanced to face the North Sanpete-Juab winner in the quarterfinals.
Union 3, North Sanpete 2
No. 6 seed Union escaped with a five-set win over No. 11 seed North Sanpete to claim the 3A second round win at UVU, 25-14, 25-21, 26-28, 14-25, 15-11. North Sanpete dug itself out of a 2-0 hole to force a fifth set, but Union took control early in the fifth and never trailed. Rowan Weaver led the Cougars with 13 kills, with Stella Price chipping in with 12 more. Sherlee Price added 10 kills. Brecklan Weaver played great defense for Union with 41 digs, with Kinzie Gardner recording seven aces. Union advanced to the quarterfinals to face Carbon.
