Lehi Sports
Falcon girls volleyball retains top spot
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The No. 1 Skyridge girls volleyball team suffered its first losses of the season back-to-back against high-level competition in the previous two weeks but still sits on top of the 6A RPI rankings with a 22-2 overall record. At a 6-1 mark, the Falcons are also still in first place in Region 3.
Sept. 30: Skyridge 3, American Fork 0
The Falcons earned a comfortable road victory against the Cavemen as they swept the match 25-20, 25-12, 25-19. Skyridge helped the cause with 11 aces and also had six blocks in the contest.
Senior outside hitter Kylie Buttars led the balanced attack with 10 kills, three aces, seven digs and 10 serve-receives. Sophomore outside hitter Sienna Kuresa had 10 kills as well along with three combined blocks, six digs and eight serve-receives.
Senior opposite Hadyn Smith added six kills while junior libero Estelle Slaney led in digs with 11 and serve-receives with 21. Senior setter Lily Grant provided seven digs and 20 assists.
Oct. 2: Corner Canyon 3, Skyridge 2
The top two teams in the state battled it out in their second league match after the Falcons swept the Chargers in their earlier meeting on the road.
The first two games went to extra points as Skyridge opened with a 26-24 win but visiting Corner Canyon countered with a 28-26 decision.
The home squad rallied to get a 25-15 win in the third set, but the Chargers closed out 25-16, 15-10 to capture the match and hand the Falcons their first loss of the season.
Buttars scored on 22 kills and two aces along with 12 digs and 32 serve-receives. Smith added 14 kills and five block-assists. Kuresa tallied eight kills with 11 digs and 27 serve-receives. Senior opposite Prestley Stevens made four kills.
Slaney posted 21 digs with 23 serve-receives while Grant made 16 digs and 34 assists. Senior setter Keira Bassett contributed 12 assists. Senior middle blocker Lily Lundberg had four block-assists and sophomore middle blocker Lucy Meck had three.
Oct. 3-4: Skyridge goes 3-1 at tourney
Next up for the Falcons were four matches in two days as they competed in the Mountain View Challenge tournament. Their first opponent was Madison out of Rexburg, Idaho, which happens to be the No. 1 team in that state.
This was another marathon match that could not have been much closer. The Bobcats won the first game 25-20, but the Falcons closed out the next two sets 27-25, 25-16 to get the advantage. The final two games were nail-biters, but Madison prevailed 25-23, 15-13 to keep their record unblemished.
Buttars tallied 21 kills, 13 digs and 46 serve-receives while Smith laid down 16 kills plus three aces. Junior Emma White added 10 kills with 10 digs and 20 serve-receives.
Lundberg served six aces to go with five kills and five block-assists. Meck contributed five kills and four block-assists. Slaney made 28 digs, four assists and 17 serve-receives. Grant had 14 digs and 45 assists.
Skyridge swept the other tournament matches. The Falcons defeated Cedar 25-13, 25-11, 25-10; managed Bountiful 25-12, 25-11, 25-20; and survived Green Canyon 25-21, 30-28, 25-21.
Sept. 25: Skyridge 3, Lone Peak 0
The Falcons won a competitive match on the road 25-18, 27-25, 25-21. Buttars recorded 17 kills and 17 serve-receives and Smith added 13 kills. Kuresa totaled nine kills with 12 digs and 31 serve-receives. Grant hit three aces and dished out 35 assists. Slaney was tops in digs with 18.
The Falcons will wrap up the regular season this week with their final Region 3 contest Tuesday (Oct. 14) at Lehi and a non-league match Wednesday (Oct. 15) at home against Skyline. Varsity matches begin about 6:30 p.m.
