High school volleyball: Top-ranked Grand looks for 2A title

Without a defending champion, the 2A race has probably never been so wide open.

Last year's champion, Richfield, moved up to 3A with the new alignment, leaving region rivals South Sevier, Grand and San Juan to battle for that top spot.

Grand won the region title and enters the Thursday afternoon's tournament at Utah Valley University's McKay Event Center as the No. 1 team. The Red Devils have just one loss — to region rival South Sevier. The two teams actually split in region play with the Rams winning the first meeting and the Red Devils earning a thrilling five-set win last week.

The Red Devils rely on the net play of senior Shelby Dalton, who had 36 kills against a tough Monticello squad. Setter Sara Hirschfield runs an efficient offense, but the team wins with a very tough defense. Grand will take on Maeser Prep, a charter school that is new to varsity volleyball. The Red Devils should easily advance to the second round, but they are favorites to get to the finals as South Sevier, Layton Christian and San Juan are all in the other bracket.

All of the changes to regions and classifications don't change what coaches and players have to do this weekend.

"There's just not that rivalry with Richfield," said Rams head coach Lori King.

The Rams rely on junior middle hitter Kayla King, one of just two players with varsity experience. The other player, a sophomore rightside hitter, is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Coach King said she lost so much with graduation that she didn't expect to compete like they did early this season. Now she's come to expect that level of play from her young players.

"I've been surprised we've been on a little bit of a losing streak the last three games," she said. "We're hoping for good things."

San Juan may go into the tournament a No. 3 seed but the perennial powerhouse will be in the mix of top teams. Behind Kelsie Meyer, Briona Laws, Alyssa Simpson and libero Liz Hurst.

Layton Christian is ranked fourth and boasts the power and athleticism of Jasmine Porter, who just committed to play basketball at San Diego State University. The Eagles cruised through region play without a loss and face either Millard or Parowan in the opening round.

If they win, they could face San Juan, a team with a lot of playoff success. In that same bracket, Beaver takes on Rowland Hall and South Sevier faces Waterford, which could be an interesting match.