High school volleyball: 6A state tournament Day 1 recap, Corner Canyon, Skyridge, Lone Peak, Bingham advance to semifinals
6A quarterfinals
Corner Canyon 3, Pleasant Grove 0
A strong defense led the way to victory for No. 5 seed Corner Canyon as it shocked No. 4 seed Pleasant Grove with a 25-22, 29-27, 26-24 sweep in the 6A quarterfinals.
“We went out there and we played with grit,” said Corner Canyon head coach Mindy Ricks. “The girls were tough and Pleasant Grove is a great team and they came out ready to battle. I think we played together as a team and that made a huge difference. We were playing for each other, and we wanted to be on the court with each other.”
While Corner Canyon had a big hitting game with Elina Mortensen leading the way with 19 kills, it was the Chargers’ defense that helped it win crucial rallies.
Corner Canyon’s libero Brielle Bodily kept multiple plays alive, and set up her teammates well in the 6A quarterfinal win.
“(Bodily) just took charge out there and she wasn’t letting any ball drop,” said Ricks. “Her cover was amazing, and it was multiple covers in every rally and not only were her digs and defense awesome, but her serve receive was awesome. It just set us up so that we can run our system and stay in our game.”
The win puts Corner Canyon in the 6A semifinal where they’ll face top seed Skyridge on Saturday.
Skyridge 3, Mountain Ridge 0
Top seeded Skyridge earned a return trip to the 6A semifinals after a 25-12, 25-6, 27-25 sweep over Mountain Ridge in the 6A quarterfinals. Mountain Ridge beat Skyridge in last year’s semifinals, and this year the Falcons got revenge.
“That’s the first time that I felt like we were focused and engaged through the entire match,” said Skyrdige head coach Silver Fonua. “We’ve had games throughout the season where we’ll win a set and then we struggle in the next set because we took the foot off the gas and let teams in because we feel like there’s some cushion. They did a fantastic job of just staying focused. So, I’m proud of what we did. The girls played really hard today, and I felt they kept the dedication through all three sets.”
Skyridge’s Kylie Buttars and Cala Cooper led in kills with 13 each. Falcons’ Taylah Kaufusi also had three blocks and two digs in the win.
Skyridge will play in the 6A semifinals on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the UCCU Center at UVU.
Lone Peak 3, Herriman 0
No. 2 seed Lone Peak took care of business on Thursday with back-to-back 3-0 sweeps, including a 25-11, 25-20, 25-22 win over No. 7 seed Herriman in the 6A quarterfinals.
“I think we served really well, served really aggressively and we passed really well,” said Lone Peak head coach Paula Jardine. “I think we stayed positive, staying resilient when they made mistakes and just kind of bouncing out, not bleeding points.”
Lone Peak’s top performers were Mckynzee Beddes with eight kills, Cami Christiansen who also had eight kills, Zoey Burgess with seven kills on .538 hitting percentage, and Sam Pope who set well in the win.
Lone Peak is on a quest for its fourth 6A state title in a row, which would be its seventh state title since 2016.
“We talk a lot about that big moment and talk about how the team on the other side not the net as if it’s any other team,” said Jardine. “We try not to make it personal, and we try to just come in and get the business done. I think that’s helpful for the girls because then it’s just like any other match. It’s a state match, but we’ve been in big moments before, and I feel like the girls handle it well when they are solid and show up and are ready to play regardless of if it’s the first set or the last set of our season.”
Bingham 3, Weber 0
No. 3 Bingham ended day one of the 6A state volleyball tournament with two 3-0 wins, including a 25-7, 25-22, 25-22 win over No. 6 Weber in the 6A quarterfinals.
“I think we scrapped on defense pretty well, we kept balls alive which gave us continuous chances to put pressure on the other side,” said Bingham head coach Reed Carlson. “I think our serving picked up throughout the day and that kind of got the other team out of system and gave us the opportunity to channel in a little bit more of what we were doing on our block and defense.”
Bingham had strong performances from Madison Evans, who had a strong setting game for the Miners, and Hazel Marchant and Levani Key-Powell each made an impact on the net for Bingham.
Bingham lost in last year’s quarterfinals to Lone Peak, and will get a rematch on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
We played them at a tournament earlier this year and it went the distance,” said Carlson, who used to coach at Lone Peak. “They beat us 17-15 in the 5th set, so I think both of us learned a lot about each other and it’s just one of those matches you’re excited to play because you know they’re the defending three-time champs and that’s where I used to coach. I know a lot of those girls so it’s going to be a lot of fun. I admire that program and I think they’ve always done a great job.”
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6A second round
Corner Canyon 3, Westlake 0
No. 5 Corner Canyon earned a spot in the 6A quarterfinals after beating No. 12 Westlake in a 25-6, 25-16, 25-11 sweep in the 6A second round. Corner Canyon’s Mia Palmer led the serving game with six aces, while Elina Mortensen had 18 kills with a .607 hitting percentage.
Mountain Ridge 3, Farmington 2
No. 8 seed Mountain Ridge narrowly made its way to the 6A semifinals with a 20-25, 25-13, 19-25, 25-23, 15-4 comeback victory against No. 9 seed Farmington. Mountain Ridge picked itself up after falling 2-1, It got a big lift from Allie Grossenbach who had an impact on the net, and Madi Ryan who had some big serves late to secure the 3-2 6A second round win.
Pleasant Grove 3, Fremont 1
After a shaky start, No. 4 Pleasant Grove kept its postseason run alive after beating No. 13 Fremont 25-19, 24-26, 25-10, 25-20. The Vikings slipped a little in the second set, but quickly answered back with a dominant 25-10 third set win. Pleasant Grove’s Hannah Olsen had three blocks, and 11 kills on 30 swings, while Addisyn Beck had 10 kills on 25 swings.
Skyridge 3, Layton 0
Top seeded Skyridge flexed its muscles in a quick 25-7, 25-12, 25-9 6A second round win over No. 16 seed Layton. Skyridge had big contributions from Kylie Buttars with seven kills and two blocks and Cala Cooper who had nine kills and three blocks.
Bingham 3, Davis 0
No. 4 seed Bingham got its fourth win in a row with a 25-16, 20-25, 16-25, sweep over No. 14 seed Davis. It was the third time this season that Davis and Bingham played this season, and for the third time in a row the Miners got a 3-0 sweep over the Darts. BIngham’s Levani Key-powell, Solia Angilau, and Paige Ballif all had standout performances in the 6A second round win.
Herriman 3, Syracuse 0
No. 7 Herriman advanced to the 6A quarterfinals after sweeping No. 10 Syracuse 25-19, 25-14, 25-22 in the 6A second round. Herriman’s strong serving game helped push it over the top, Mckinley Boehm led the way with strong hitting and blocking for the Mustangs.
Weber 3, Copper Hills 2
After falling 0-2, No. 6 Weber had a 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-11 comeback to beat No. 11 Copper Hills in the 6A second round. Brooke Whitlock was big in the serve with four aces for Weber. Warriors’ Havi Montano led in kills with 15, Eden Jenson had 11 digs, and Katelynn Field had two blocks.
Lone Peak 3, American Fork 0
No. 2 seed Lone Peak gets into the 6A semifinals after a dominant 25-11, 25-10, 25-12 win over No. 15 seed American Fork. It was the third meeting for Lone Peak and American Fork this season, with the Knights getting all three wins with a 9-0 set record. Lone Peak’s Mckynzee Beddes had 10 kills with a .500 hitting percentage, Cami Christiansen had nine kills, and Sam Pope had four aces in the win.
