Top teams advance in 2A girls volleyball tourney

OREM — In hot pursuit of a repeat title, the San Juan girls volleyball team blazed through the first round against Kanab and outlasted Waterford in a quarterfinal nail-biter Friday.

The decisive match came down to the wire, and was determined at the end of five hard-fought games.

Brooke Lyman came up big for the Broncos with 43 "amazing" passes, according to coach Cassy Moon. The returning first-team all stater had 22 digs to go along with her solid distribution.

Simone Shumway also contributed in the victory with 30 assists and teammate Teal Palmer stepped up in a crucial moment to change the pace of the game.

"Teal has ice in her veins," Moon said. "I told her, 'I don't care how you get it on the ground, just get it on the ground.' She got us rolling."

Palmer had 13 solid kills and four aces, with a number of them coming at crucial moments. The senior took her coach's plea to heart.

"Having people wanting it to come to me, it really made me focus," she said. "I really wanted to do it for my team."

The Broncos will take on the Grand Red Devils in the semifinals today.

The Red Devils (4-4) may prove to be a tough match-up as they sailed to an easy 3-0 victory over Rowland Hall. Because it was a comfortable game, the Red Devils' key players enjoyed some down time — something that may prove advantageous in today's contest.

Nikita Nelson led with eight kills and three aces, and Rachel Garrett added three blocks in the win. Rowland Hall knocked off No. 2-ranked Manti in the earlier game on Friday, making the Red Devils victory that much more impressive.

Top-ranked Enterprise also fared well, as it took on the North Summit Braves in the quarterfinal contest and walked away with a convincing victory. Although it took four games, coach Brian Phelps said his team never quit fighting.

"We were really scrappy and just outworked them in the end," he said.

Taylor Phelps distributed the ball well with 35 assists and teammate Riley Lyman added 24 kills and 18 digs. With only one senior, the young team is looking to finish out their strong season with a championship title.

No. 2-ranked Richfield met expectations as well and displayed an exceptional performance. Despite a first game loss to Millard, they made the necessary adjustments and never looked back, earning large margin victories the rest of the day.

"We were really hitting on all cylinders," coach Brett Beagley said. "We haven't looked like that in weeks. Each girl played really well."

Enterprise will take on Richfield and Grand will meet San Juan today in what promises to be an exciting semifinal round.

email: jwilde@desnews.com