High school girls volleyball: 4A quarterfinal recap

Orem 3, Ridgeline 1
Defending state champ Orem advanced to the 4A semifinals with a workmanlike 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15 win over No. 9 seed Ridgeline in the quarterfinals at UVU on Friday.
The top seed Tigers advance to the semifinals to play Desert Hills on Saturday.
Things got away from Orem a bit in the third set as Ridgeline showed the no-quit attitude that helped it win a five-setter earlier in the day, but Tigers coach Bill Sefita said keeping it simple was the key to bouncing back in the fourth.
“Just kind of cleaning up, being simple with the ball and then just finding ways to communicate rather than — I feel a lot times when you have freshmen and upper classes, we tend to bark orders instead of saying ‘Hey, how can we talk in a motivating and uplifting way with each other’ and I feel like that will help them step up to the spotlight,” said Sefita.
He saw much more of that in the fourth set, and improved serving as well.
Senior Kambri Kuhni led the Tigers with eight kills, with Sophie Campbell adding seven and Madi Scott chipping in with six.
Desert Hills 3, Crimson Cliffs 1
In the much-anticipated quarterfinal showdown between region foes Desert Hills and Crimson Cliffs, the Thunder showed the poise necessary to advance to the semifinals.
After the teams split their two region games, No. 4 seed Desert Hills took care of business in the third match in beating No. 5 Crimson Cliffs 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 25-20 in the quarterfinals at UVU.
Halle Heath had another great game hitting for Desert Hills as she recorded 17 kills with a .382 hitting percentage.
“I think we did a really good job getting the ball to Hallie. She’s just a big scorer for us. When we can get her the ball, she does a really good job of putting it away. But I also think just kind of staying within ourselves and staying focused on what we’re needed to do,” said Desert Hills coach Craig Allred.
Allred said nerves got the better of his team a bit in losing the third set, but he thought he momentum his team built toward the end of that set carried into the fourth.
“I was really happy how we ended the third set, even though we didn’t win it, I think the momentum carried us into the fourth,” said Allred.
Alivia Jenson passed a 2.5 on 43 serve-receive attempts for the Thunder, while Jayla Ybright recorded 38 assists.
With the win, Desert Hills advances to face top seed Orem in the semifinals.
Park City 3, Mountain View 0
Park City coach Matt Carlson wants his team to be the most scrappy one in the 4A state tournament, and his team lived up to that reputation in the 4A quarterfinals.
The No. 3 Miners never let No. 6 seed Mountain View build any momentum as they swept the Bruins 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 to advance to Saturday’s 4A semifinals.
“We said offensively we’ll just keep being smart and aggressive, but most importantly let’s just create that identity of touching everything defensively and going after it. So it’s kind of a fun switch for our team that way,” said Carlson.
He said senior Sofia Stoddard played an “unreal back row” to helped anchor the defense while Marley Rains was great defensively as well.
Carlson had high praise for his two middle blockers as well, Isabella Beatty and Caden Lyon.
“Our big focus has just been working on creating an identity of being the most scrappy team,” said Carlson.
Park City advances to the semifinals to face No. 2 seed Green Canyon.
Green Canyon 3, Payson 0
The 4A runner-up a year ago, No. 2 seed Green Canyon took a big step toward trying to get over that thump this year with a very balanced performance in the quarterfinals at UVU.
Coach Maddie Larsen was pleased how everyone on the team contributed in the 25-21, 25-18, 25-16 victory over No. 7 seed Payson.
Green Canyon started a bit slow in the first set, but it didn’t take long for the Wolves to take over.
“We started slow for sure. We took a minute to get going there, but once we got everybody involved it was a lot easier on the girls to stay on task and stay focused,” said Larsen. “I thought our setters did a really nice job of involving everyone in the offense which makes it better for us to have everyone involved.”
Audrey White led Green Canyon with 12 kills, with Keira Birch adding nine kills. Middle blocker Jaylee Adams recorded six kills with a .357 hitting percentage.
“It’s hard to rely on one person. I think when we can utilize everybody then it makes us a lot more deadly. I thought we passed well enough to utilize people and our setters did a nice job of keeping everyone involved,” said Larsen.
Ridgeline 3, Hurricane 2
No. 9 seed Ridgeline let a two-set lead slip away, but then recovered in the fifth set to beat No. 8 seed Hurricane 25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 19-25, 15-4 in the 4A second round at UVU. Teagan Sabillion recorded 17 assists and one ace for the Riverhawks, with Abby Bodily adding nine kills and one block. Brynlie Cornie and Kayte Holland each recorded eight kills for Ridgeline, which advances to face No. 1 seed Orem in the quarterfinals.
Desert Hills 3, Uintah 0
Hallie Heath hit .687 with 12 kills to lead No. 5 seed Desert Hills to the strong victory over No. 12 seed Uintah in the second round of the 4A state tournament at UVU. Freshman Jessica Openshaw helped set the tone early for the Thunder with three aces in the first set, finishing the game with four. Jayla Ybright led the offense with 26 assists in the win.
Crimson Cliffs 3, Provo 2
Senior Tehanie Waters hit .288 with 22 kills and 17 assists, while Sadie Halveron added 27 digs to lead No. 4 seed Crimson Cliffs to the narrow win over No. 13 seed Provo, 25-14, 20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-9 in the 4A second round at UVU. Audry Stratton chipped had a great game as well for the Mustangs as she hit .259 with 10 kills and 30 assists.
Orem 3, Dixie 0
Kambri Kuhni, Maddie Scott and Callie Eudis all recorded three kills, while Scarlett Page had a strong game passing as top seed Orem rolled to the 25-8, 25-8, 25-17 win over No. 17 Dixie in the 4A second round at UVU. Reyn Fuller also had a strong game for the defending state champion Tigers with four kills.
Green Canyon 3, Sky View 0
No. 2 seed Green Canyon got a big scare from No. 18 seed Sky View in the second set of the 4A second round, but the Wolves rallied to win that set and then the match 25-18, 26-24, 25-16. Sophomore Audrey White hit .333 with 19 kills, while freshman middle blocker Kiera Baker hit .600 with 15 kills. Elly Giordano chipped in with 26 assists, with Eliza Force adding four aces and 17 assists.
Payson 3, Hillcrest 0
Taryn Wimmer tallied nine kills and five aces, with Averie Round adding eight kills over her own as No. 7 seed Payson took care of business against No. 10 seed Hillcrest in the 4A second round, 25-22, 25-15, 25-11. Malia Wesley chipped in with five kills and three aces, while Quincey Mathews added four aces for the Lions.
Park City 3, West Field 0
Henley Madsen, Sabine Smith and Sofia Stouffer all had strong games hitting, while Marley Rains had a strong game passing as No. 3 seed Park City jumped all over No. 14 seed West Field on its way to the comfortable 25-6, 25-22, 25-21 win in the 4A second round at UVU.
Mountain View 3, Cedar City 0
Mountain View junior Jaycee Carlson recorded 14 kills, while sophomore Keilani Wesley added 11 more as the No. 6 seed Bruins topped No. 11 seed Cedar 15-22, 25-20, 25-21 in the 4A second round at UVU. Tori Harris chipped in with four aces for Mountain View.