The Pinnacle Canyon Academy girls’ volleyball team secured a spot in a play-in game for the 1A State tournament with its win over Whitehorse High School on Friday.
The Panthers defeated the Raiders of Whitehorse in five hard-fought sets. Pinnacle quickly got out to a 2-0 lead after winning the first sets 25-15 and 25-21, respectively. However, the Raiders fought back in the next two sets and took 26-24 and 25-23 wins. With the match tied at two sets a piece, the Panthers were about to pull ahead to secure the 15-10 win in the final set.
“They had to dig down deep and decide if they wanted to make it to State or not,” said head coach Heidi Kay. “We needed to work as a team and play hard and play like we practice.”
After a season riddled with tough losses, Kay is excited that the girls will have the opportunity to play at State.
“This was kind of a big win for us and momentum to get us into the tournament,” said Kay. “Just going that far is going to be great for the kids.”
The Panthers also honored their seniors Friday night, who Kay says have made all the difference in the team’s performance this year.
“I’ll get emotional talking about the seniors,” said Kay. “My seniors are amazing. I’ve had two of the three since they were in junior high and so they are a good group of seniors. They are leaders and they can get the team pumped back up.”
Pinnacle lost its game earlier last week to Monticello in three sets, which made Friday’s game a must win over Whitehorse. With the win, which put the Pinnacle’s record at 2-6 in Region and 3-11 overall, the Panthers will head to the State play-in game on Friday at UVU. Pinnacle has made it to a State play-in game in the past, however the Panthers have never made it past that point.
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