Katie Langford of Snow Canyon bumps the ball during a match at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Sept. 13, 2018 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In a showdown between Region 9’s top two volleyball teams, the Snow Canyon Lady Warriors defeated Desert Hills Tuesday night in a three-set sweep.

The Lady Warriors won the contest 25-21, 25-18, 25-22, thereby avenging their loss to the Lady Thunder earlier in the season. Desert Hills had won 3-1 at home on Sept. 13.

This time around, however, Snow Canyon was playing on their home floor in front of a boisterous crowd on senior night. Sammi Johnston led the Lady Warriors with 17 kills, while Katie Langford added four blocks.

“Our players did a little better serving and passing than the first time we played them,” Snow Canyon head coach Dave Johnston told St. George News. “It was a tough, hard-fought match, as always.”

Kami Bliss led the Lady Thunder with 17 kills in the loss.

With Tuesday’s victory, Snow Canyon improved its region record to 10-1 with one game remaining in the regular season, at Canyon View on Friday, Oct. 19. Meanwhile, previously unbeaten Desert Hills fell to 9-1 in Region 9 play, or a half-game behind the Warriors. Desert Hills has two more region games left next week: at home against Dixie on Tuesday and at Hurricane on Friday.

Snow Canyon and Desert Hills have clinched Region 9’s top two playoff seeds, although the region champion has yet to be determined. Similarly, Dixie and Cedar have essentially sewn up the third and fourth place seeds in the region, but their order of finish is also not yet decided (Hurricane, which beat Canyon View 3-0 Tuesday, could still possibly finish in tie for fourth place). Dixie has lost its last two region contests, while Cedar has won three in a row.

Each Region 9 team plays the other six teams in the region twice during the season.

The state 4A tournament, scheduled for Oct. 24-25 at Utah Valley University in Orem, will feature the top four teams from each of the four 4A regions in Utah. Click here to see bracket.

“We have a tough region, which helps us all compete at state,” coach Johnston added.

Following are the Region 9 volleyball standings and region records as of Oct. 12:

1. Snow Canyon 10-1
2. Desert Hills 9-1
3. Dixie 6-4
4. Cedar 6-5
5. Hurricane 4-6
6. Canyon View 1-9
7. Pine View 0-10

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