Hurricane rallies past Cedar to keep volleyball playoff hopes alive

Written by Jeff Richards
October 17, 2018
As teammates look on, Hurricane's Emma Prete spikes the ball during volleyball match against Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 16, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — The Hurricane Lady Tigers kept their volleyball postseason hopes alive with a come-from-behind victory at Cedar High Tuesday night.

Hurricane’s Mckena Carter spikes the ball during match against Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 16, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The first two sets were close, but Cedar won both, 25-22 and 27-25. Midway through the third set, Hurricane took the lead and went on to win 25-21. With senior Alexis Martin serving, the Lady Tigers scored several points in a row toward the end of the game.

The Lady Tigers then captured the fourth set 25-18, after which they carried their momentum into the fifth and deciding set, which Hurricane won 15-11.

“We knew that we were in both of the games that we lost,” said Hurricane head coach Content Marshall. “We were still in them, and I reminded the girls when we played Pine View, we were down two games and then we came back and won the next three, and (told them) they just needed to settle down and keep executing the plan that we had in place. They stayed strong and did a good job. I’m really proud of them.”

Cedar head coach Nicole Anglin said her team appeared to lose focus toward the second half of the match, leading to mental mistakes.

“I think they got kind of emotional with the game and that kinda throws us,” Anglin said. “We were just playing as individuals and not as a team. They know how to play. They know how to play as a team, and it shouldn’t matter who’s on the court and who’s not.”

Hurricane’s London Gubler spikes the ball during volleyball match at Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 16, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The loss dropped the Lady Reds to 6-6 on the season and into fourth place in the Region 9 standings. Although Cedar missed its chance for third place, Anglin said this year marks the first time Cedar has qualified for post-season play since 2010.

“I’m proud of what these girls have done, and we’re ready to keep playing,” said Anglin, who is in her fourth year as coach. Her young team will only lose one senior to graduation, Kya Payne.

Hurricane, which improved to 5-6 with the win over Cedar, can still force a tie for fourth place by beating Desert Hills on Friday night at Hurricane. If Hurricane ends up tied with Cedar for fourth, the two teams, which split their two regular season contests, would have to play a play-in game to see who advances to the state tournament as Region 9’s No. 4 seed.

In other Region 9 action Tuesday night, Pine View picked up its first region win of the season with a 3-1 home victory over Canyon View. In addition, Desert Hills hosted Dixie and defeated the Lady Flyers 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17).

The Region 9 season concludes Friday evening, when Hurricane hosts Desert Hills, Dixie hosts Pine View and Canyon View hosts Snow Canyon. Cedar has a bye. Since Desert Hills and Snow Canyon are both 10-1 heading into their final games, each could win the region title outright or share it if they both win on the road Friday. The varsity games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The top four teams from Region 9, along with those from the other three 4A regions, will advance to play in the 4A state tournament, scheduled for Oct. 24-25 at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Following are the Region 9 volleyball standings and region records as of Oct. 17:

1t. Snow Canyon 10-1
1t. Desert Hills 10-1
3. Dixie 6-5
4. Cedar 6-6
5. Hurricane 5-6
6t. Canyon View 1-10
6t. Pine View 1-10

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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