High school volleyball: Warriors seek to keep 4A volleyball dominance

Can Snow Canyon win its fifth consecutive state title?

The Warriors had only one snag this season — a loss at the Highland Tournament to eventual 3A state champion Morgan.

Led by junior setter Ciara Parker, sophomore outside hitter McKenzie Willey, Taylor Murphey, Stacey Benton, Leah Heyer and Lexi Esplin, the Warriors have been atop the 4A rankings all season long.

And while some teams may whither under the pressure of national rankings and high community expectations, the Snow Canyon volleyball players revel in the tradition that they've built.

The Warriors open with Salem Hills, and the biggest question of the tournament is will any team have what it takes to unseat the defending 4A champions?

Among the teams capable of playing with the Warriors are Bountiful, Lehi, Mountain View, Dixie, Sky View, Olympus and Stansbury.

The Titans handed the Stallions their first region loss last week to tie Woods Cross for third place in Region 6. The Titans are led by Allie Spurrier and Desi Bradshaw, as well as Annie Fisher and Parisa Badizadegan.

The Stallions open with Westlake and are led by Hannah Allred, Erika Alvey, Cassidy Christiansen, Brenna DeYoung, Alyssa Martell and Katelynn Tyler.

The Mountain View vs. Dixie match will likely be the best opening round contest with two ranked teams.

The Bruins will be playing for their teammate Rachel Steele, who is battling cancer. They lost just one region match to Lehi, but lost the coin toss and enter as the No. 2 seed.

The Bruins are led by Chelsey Schofield, who was Region 4's MVP as a junior, and the owner of several state records.

The Braves are led by Sharlee Harrick, Ashley Allred, Madi Packard and Natalia Sisiianaua, and the squad opens with Sky View. The bobcats are led by Maddie Day, Kylie Pharis and a host of young talent.

Box Elder will take on Uintah in the first round and Orem will face a familiar foe in Springville in the first round of 4A action.

The Bees are led by Sommer Reeder and Savannah Jones, while Springville is led by Kristin Clark and Turia Andrus. Uintah took Springville to five games and is led by Britnee Beach, Mookie Harris, Chanel Pace and Harlee Poglajen.

The teams will play the first two rounds of the double-elimination tournament on Friday with the semifinals, place games and title match scheduled for Saturday.

The 4A state championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. at UVU's McKay Event Center.

4A State Volleyball Tournament

At Utah Valley University

Friday's schedule

Upper bracket

Sky View vs. Bountiful, 9 a.m.

Salem Hills vs. Snow Canyon, 10:30 a.m.

Mountain Crest vs. Lehi, 10:30 a.m.

Woods Cross/Olympus vs. Spanish Fork, 9 a.m.

Lower bracket

Orem vs. Springville, 12:15 p.m.

Stansbury vs. Westlake, 1:45 p.m.

Uintah vs. Box Elder, 1:45 p.m.

Mountain View vs. Dixie, 12:15 p.m.

e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com