| Julia Potts dishes out one of her 34 sets during Carbon’s big win. |
Impressive is the best way to describe the play of the Carbon Dino volleyball squad on Thursday night as they swept Juan Diego 25-11, 25-14, and 25-10 in their final regular season game.
The win was the final piece of the goal that the team had set at the beginning of the season, to stay undefeated in region action. Only the match against North Sanpete stood in the way of it being a perfect season-that is no individual game losses. But to go undefeated in one of the strong regions in the state says a lot for the young team and its first year coach.
Carbon came out strong from the first serve to the last in its final match. Coach Cristen Johnson challenged the girls to come out and play strong. The offense was crisp and aggressive as they pounded ball after ball over the net at Juan Diego. The outcome of the game was apparent after about six points as the Dinos pulled away and never looked back.
Game two was a bit more even until midway through when Carbon felt its rhythm again and took control. Game three was over almost before it started as the Dinos knew they had what it took to go undefeated and played like impending state champions.
Good news for the Dinos is that Whitney Oliver was cleared to return to the court wearing a knee brace to prevent further injury. Joy Malone led the team with 14 kills and Megan Garvin had 12, with Britni Greenwood contributing 11 in the offensive attack. Julia Potts dished out another 34 set assists to direct the offensive play. Garvin led the defense with 17 digs, Greenwood contributed 16 and Erika Potts had 11.
The team now sets its sights on the state tournament on Friday morning. They play Logan at 9:30 at the McKay Event Center on the UVSC campus. Win or lose, they will face either Ben Lomand or Uintah in the second round. They have beaten both teams earlier in the season. If they are successful it sets up a possible showdown with number one ranked Morgan in the championship game.