Mountain Crest volleyball bounces Bonneville
October 15th, 2012 Posted in SportsHYRUM — With three games left in the regular season, the race for the Region 5 volleyball title is a two-team scrum.
Clinging to a one-game advantage at the start of Thursday, the Mountain Crest girls volleyball team took care of business against Bonneville with a three-set sweep to guarantee at least a second-place in region.
Senior setter Kelsee Nelson had a big night for the Mustangs, finishing with 26 assists, five kills, two blocks and three service aces.
“Kelsee was awesome tonight,” Mountain Crest head coach Lori Karaghouli said. “She is a fantastic setter, she played really well tonight. I can’t say enough about Kelsee.”
Nelson started and finished the first set with a service ace, and was all over the court for Mountain Crest while racking up five assists, three kills and a block to go along with three service aces. After the Lakers cut a nine-point deficit to four, Nelson dumped the ball over the net on the second touch for a 23-18 lead and finished it off with a pair of service aces to secure the set win.
The second set turned into a grudge match between the two squads, and neither team led by more than four throughout. Bonneville held an early advantage behind the strong hitting performance of senior outside hitter Kelly Roberts, but Nelson teamed up with fellow-senior Katie Harvey and junior Milanna Barnes –who each recorded five kills in the set — to fight off the pesky Lakers for a 30-28 victory.
“We played as a team,” Nelson said. “Without my team I couldn’t set. My passers passed well for me, I set, my hitters put it down. We wanted it really big so we came out and performed. It feels way good.”
With a two set lead, errors plagued the Mustangs throughout the third as the Lakers used an 11-4 run to turn a 1-point deficit into a 20-14 lead and appeared to be on the way to forcing a fourth set.
Back stormed the Mustangs.
After a quiet first set, Harvey found her swing and for the second consecutive set tallied five kills to give her 1 on the night, and the error-bug bit the Lakers allowing Mountain Crest to reel off six straight points to knot the game at 20.
Roberts kept the Lakers alive with three of her match-high 14 kills in the third, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the error-filled set and the Mustangs sealed the win.
“It was big,” Karaghouli said. “We transitioned well from offense to defense, focused and played really well. It’s a tight race to go to state this year. This team likes to compete. They can bring it when they want to bring it.”
Mountain Crest improved to 6-2 in region play and clinched a playoff spot with the win, but if the Mustangs are going to catch region-leader Sky View, they’re going to need outside help.
Sky View holds a two-game edge, and the Bobcats have two games remaining while Mountain crest has three games remaining. The two teams meet in the final match of the season Oct 24.
But first, Mountain Crest will have to get past Box Elder and Roy on a two-game road next week. First serve between the Mustangs and Bees on Oct. 16 is scheduled for 6 p.m., with a 4 p.m. start Oct 17 against the Royals.
NW
Tags: girls volleyball, Lori Karaghouli, Mountain Crest, Region 5
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