High school volleyball: 4A tourney anybody's to win

Only one thing is certain about this year's 4A state volleyball tournament.

It's anybody's to win.

"I think you go into a tournament with teams that are fairly evenly matched, and anything can happen," said top-ranked Cottonwood coach Bob Berrett. "And then, there is always that Cinderella team."

The Colts are currently atop the rankings, but several other teams have spent some time there including Snow Canyon, Dixie, Springville, Orem and Murray. The Colts' only loss is to Murray in the first round of Region 6 play.

"We just didn't execute well," said Berrett.

But with only one returning starter, the Colts had a lot to learn and they have gotten stronger as the season's continued. In the second round of region play, Cottonwood swept Murray.

The engineer of the potent Colt offense is junior setter Emily Atkinson.

"A lot of our success has been her ability to find the open player," said Berrett. "She's the only one who played on our 2006 championship team, and she's done a great job learning how to spread the ball around."

Atkinson has plenty of weapons to choose from, starting with outside hitters Alydia Fields and McKenna Tait.

"All of these kids can jump," said Berrett. "They look small, but they play pretty big."

Orem is currently ranked No. 2 and the Tigers are a dangerous team because, like Cottonwood, they are young. Hannah Robinson, April Robins, Caysie Taylor, Shelby Lamoreaux and Temeeka Wilson are some of the players Orem will rely on to do well for them in the tournament.

Both teams will have significant contributors who have never played in the chaotic environment that teams will encounter in the four-courts-playing-at-once atmosphere at UVU's McKay Event Center this Friday.

Cottonwood will face Provo in the first round, while Orem, Region 7's top seed, will square off against Olympus. Third-ranked Snow Canyon, the Region 9 champion, will play Payson in the tournament's opening round, while Region 5's champ Sky View, ranked fourth, will take on Cyprus.

Fifth-ranked Murray will play Bountiful, a three seed, in the first round. The Spartans have some serious firepower in senior outside hitter Ame White and strong leadership in junior setter Sara Ramos.

Look for Region 7's second-seeded Springville, as well as third-seeded Mountain View, Highland, a three seed from Region 6, and Dixie, Region 9's second seed, to be in the mix as well.

---

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com