Boys volleyball has started to become popular over the past few years. This year is the first year that the UHSAA has added boys volleyball as a sport for 3a high schools. Our school had the first home games in history. The team played the North Sanpete Hawks and the Stansbury Stallions.
Boys volleyball has been long anticipated for many people on the team. Nathen Hawke, senior libero, said, “It’s a lot of fun to finally have a team. Volleyball has always been an interest of mine and it’s good to finally have a group of boys that I can play competitively with and actually know what they’re doing instead of just playing powder tuff.” Now the wait is finally over.
The team had their first game against Tooele last thursday. Both JV and varsity were able to sweep the Buffs and win in three sets. The next day the boys left for a tournament in St. George where JV went undefeated and Varsity won three out of six games.
The team went to practice on Monday ready to work and prepare. The boys were excited to play in their first home game on Tuesday. They were focused and ready to work.
The boys came out with high energy in the first set but let down. North Sanpete was scrappy diving and going after everything. They were able to go on a serving run and win the first set 12-25.
The team comes into the second set with a new mindset. Joe Bailey goes on a serving run bringing the Cowboys up by 4. Ethan Powell is hitting strongly. The team gains a lead 10-3. North Sanpete is able to recenter their minds and start to gain momentum. They bring the game to a one point difference. Coach Rexford calls a time out to help the boys calm down and finish the set. North Sanpete has serve coming out of the time out. The team sides out getting a good pass, set and then kill by Max Critchlow, changing the momentum to the Cowboys. Powell gets a hard hit swung at him but he’s able to dig it, leading the Cowboys into another kill 24-21. Decker Dzierzon gets a block to finish the set.
The Cowboys have the momentum to lead into the third set. They start in serve receive. North Sanpete serves the ball aggressively but Nathen Hawke is able to get a pass right to the setter, they win the first point. North Sanpete is not giving up; they play scrapping diving for everything they can. The Cowboys play the net well, hitting strong and getting blocks. The game is close, both teams being within two points of each other the entire time. North Sanpete swings hard but Hawke is able to get digs on defense. Corbin Hislop gets a block to finish the set.
The boys go in confident into the fourth set. Joe Bailey starts with the serve placing the ball to get aces. North Sanpete creates a different energy and are able to gain a four point lead. The set is close. North Sanpete has serve, the cowboys are able to side out. Ethan powell gets a kill bringing the Cowboys up 18-17. The Hawks call a timeout, they recenter and come back 21-24. Game point and North Sanpete has serve. Max Critchlow swings aggressively at the ball, the Hawks shank the kill sending it to the bleachers, their libero doesn’t give up and jumps over a chair to make a save, the rally continues but not for long, the Cowboys are able to finish it with a kill. The Hawks get the ball back and win the fourth set.
North Sanpete starts the fifth set with high energy. Neither team gives up on the ball, creating long rallies. The Hawks go on a 10 point scoring run. Coach Rexford calls a time out to bring energy back to the Cowboys. Ethan powell gets a kill putting the Cowboys on the board. Joe Bailey serves aggressively, adding more to the Cowboys score. Hislop and Powell play the net well getting blocks and kills. North Sanpete finishes 9-15 winning the game.
The boys spent the rest of the week practicing and working on their fundamentals. They focused on developing a new skill each day so that when game day came, they would be ready. Keltin Byrd, junior middle blocker, said, “ Honestly we just play volleyball. We do a lot of six on six drills and we scrimmage. The coaches will correct us on our hitting approach, passing angles, and blocking footwork. We just try to improve our fundamentals so it makes the game easier.”
Game day came and the team walked onto the court confident. The energy was high playing our county rivals, the Stansbury Stallions. The team started off strong winning the first point. The boys hit hard, getting a lot of kills to finish the rallies. The Cowboys get a five point lead when Stansbury calls a time out. The boys miss a few serves bringing the Stallions back into the game. Stansbury serves aggressively, placing the ball to get aces. The game is close. Joe Bailey gets a kill to end the set 25-21.
The team goes into the second set with the same mindset. The Cowboys win the first point of the set but the Stallions are able to side out and win the second point. The boys play scrappy and hustle for everything to get saves. The Stallions play strong, swinging hard and passing everything that comes over. The Cowboys call a timeout 11-16. The team picks it up and ties the game 16-16. The boys continue to play the net well getting blocks. Stansbury is able to place the ball and win the second set 23-25.
The third set the Stallions are confident and start strong. The Cowboys pick it back up and are able to tie the game with Joe Bailey getting a kill. It’s a close set, the team gets blocks against the Stallions hitters. Stansbury serves aggressively, causing the Cowboys to be down 20-23. They come back with Ethan Powell getting a kill to finish the set 26-24.
The fourth set the stallions didn’t give up. Their middles put up blocks to defend their side. The cowboys serve and hit hard. The student section’s energy is high, the gym is loud. Lex Egbert, junior, said “The student section was a lot of fun, people were invested in the game, especially if their friends were playing or they had past volleyball experience.” Stansbury gains momentum and wins the set 25-23.
Both teams are tired but neither team gives up. Nate Hawke goes on a serving run 10-5 when stansbury calls a time out. The Stallions recenter and start to get kills but the Cowboys get the momentum back. It’s a close game but Corbin Hislop gets a kill to win the game 15-13.
The team finished the week playing the Carbon Dinos and North Sanpete Hawks. After they return from spring break they will play Salt Lake Academy at home on April 4 and then they start region April 9.
