Knights rally, push past Hunter

OREM — When Lone Peak volleyball coach Deanna Meyer noticed her team dragging a bit in the first game of their quarterfinal match against Hunter, she reminded them what happens when you try to conserve energy in an athletic contest.

"They were a little flat coming out," said the Lone Peak coach after her team earned a berth in the semifinals with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 win over fifth-ranked Hunter on Friday night at UVSC. "I think we expended so much emotion in the Skyline game, they were a little tired. I told them they need to work hard and that I don't care if they're tired. You shouldn't save it for later, because there might not be a later."

The Knights responded with energy, emotion and a very balanced attack. Christie Carpenter led all hitters with 13 kills, while Christina Evans added eight kills and Jackie Fotu earned seven kills. Setter Ashley Hamilton had six kills and four blocks, and dished out 29 assists to her hitters.

Meyer is so concerned that her team stays focused, she sent them home immediately after the match with orders to go straight to bed. She didn't even let them talk to the media.

"I want them to stay focused," she said. "This is about the team, not one player."

Meyer was a little more cautious than usual because the team had such an emotionally draining day starting with a first-round game against Skyline that rivaled any of the second-round matches. The Eagles won the first two games, and then the Knights came back to win the next three, but not without a fight from the Eagles.

During that match, middle blocker Olivia Fowler broke her leg, and making it more painful for the senior is the fact that she just recovered from a sprained ankle.

"She's a great player and she would help us a lot," Meyer said. "She's an exciting player and always upbeat. It's hard to ever replace a player like that."

Because the Knights make it a point not to focus or rely on a single player, she said they will "carry on. The others will just step up and pick up the slack."

The Wolverines went in the opposite direction as the Knights, playing more and more tentative, but never gave up trying to take the match back.

"We just didn't play as a team," said Hunter coach Pam Olsen of the Region 3 champs. "We're not used to losing, and as soon as we started to get behind, we got frustrated and playing more to not to lose than playing to win."