Mountain Crest girls trounce Logan in volleyball region play
September 17th, 2012 Posted in SportsBy Curtis Lundstrom
LOGAN — Kicking off region play on the road, the Mountain Crest girls volleyball team picked up a win against valley rival Logan, 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15 Thursday.
“My team can still improve,” said Mountain Crest head coach Lori Karaghouli. “We’ve been improving every match and I am excited about region.”
The Mustangs jumped all over the Grizzlies early, using strong serving to race to a two sets to none lead. Katie Harvey had solid performance on both offense and defense for Mountain Crest, recording a double double with 18 kills and 10 blocks.
The match featured two of the top players in the valley in Harvey and Logan’s Nicole Peacock, and the game quickly became a battle between the two.
“They’re both good players,” Karaghouli said. “Centering our offense around Katie takes the pressure off of the others. I don’t think you can win with just one player, so we try and bring everybody else in also.”
Chalk one up for Harvey.
While Peacock had a good performance, she was no match for Harvey and was denied on several occasions by the senior middle blocker in head-to-head tilts at the net.
“Yeah, that was rough,” Peacock said. “She’s a good hitter. We played club against each other, so we’ve played together for awhile. It’s a friendly rivalry.”
Down two sets, the Grizzlies had a never-say-die attitude, racing to a 4-0 lead in the third. The two teams traded runs as the Mustangs used a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 12-11 midway through, but Logan responded with 6-0 run of its own.
The Mustangs fought back to within two at 19-17, but Crimson Gym at Logan High went nuts as the Grizzlies closed it out with a 6-1 run to take the set.
“I’m really pleased with the way my team is playing,” Harvey said. “They’re giving me the opportunity to put balls down with good passes. We’re working together as a team. We know that when we’re down we can pull through.”
And pull through the Mustangs did.
The Mustangs raced to 7-1 lead, and though the Grizzlies clawed their way back to within two, there wasn’t enough left in the tank and Mountain Crest cruised to the 25-15 win behind strong play from Harvey.
Milanna Barnes added 13 kills for the Mustangs, who caught a bit of fortune in the final set after several balls were mishit into the net, but trickled over to the dismay of the Grizzlies.
“We know we’re going to be a good team,” Harvey said. “We’re going to work hard and do our best to get the wins.”
Mountain Crest improved to 1-0 in region competition, part of a 6-6 record overall. Five of those six losses came in the Utah Tournament of Champions Aug. 17-18. The sixth loss — to Syracuse Sept 5– snapped a 4-match winning streak for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs continue their region slate against the Royals of Roy High School, who visit Hyrum Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
NW
Tags: Katie Harvey, Logan High School, Lori Karaghouli, Mountain Crest High School, Nicole Peacock, volleyball
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