Carbon Volleyball Swept by Emery

Carbon’s Diana Morley goes up for a kill against Emery on Wednesday August 22, 2018. (Photo Credit: Loren Miller)
Carbon volleyball lost their season opener 3-0 to rival Emery on Wednesday night at home.
The game was in front of a high energy and emotional crowd with fans and parents from both sides filling the stands.
That energy was transferred onto the court as both teams went back and forth in each set with Emery ultimately defeating the Dinos each time by only two points.
“The emotions of the night and the crowd definitely got the best of us,” said Carbon Head Coach Teresa Mower.
According to Mower, those emotions impacted the way the Dinos served and worked on offense.
“We missed served and didn’t pass like we should, we missed 12 serves in three games and we lost by a total of six points in three games. That’s easily the game right there,” she said.
In the first set both teams battled back and forth all the way until the end when Emery scored three points in a row to take the set 26-24.
Carbon’s Makenna Blanc stepped up for the Dinos and was all over the court on Wednesday night including a big first set where she chipped in with seven kills.
“Makenna brought it tonight and gave it her all and I am super proud of her,” said Mower.
The Dinos opened the second set trailing Emery early on with a 8-2 deficit which later turned into a 16-8 lead for Emery.
With such a big hole to climb out of, the Dinos would not go away in the second set and consistently chipped away at the Spartans’ lead.
Led by Diana Morley’s five straight kills, Carbon came back to tie the game at 22-22 in the second set.
“We fought back, we never gave up. Even if we were down a lot, we still got excited for each point we got. It was fun to see the energy and the hard work we showed,” said Blanc.
Mistakes and miscommunication doomed the Dinos in the second set as they lost to Emery 25-23.
At the beginning of the third set, Coach Mower went to her bench and substituted out starters who struggled in the first two sets. 
Emery remained confident and kept their starters in which immediately paid off as they opened the third set with a 9-4 lead.
 Trailing 19-12, the Dinos made another big comeback in the third set with a 9-2 run to tie the set 21-21. Carbon’s Gracie Salas contributed with six points during the third set comeback.
Emery got back to set point leading 24-22 but back to back scores by Carbon’s Abbie Saccomanno tied it at 24.
The Dinos would push Emery all the way to the end but the same mistakes that hurt the Dinos earlier in the game cost them the third set, losing 27-25 to the Spartans.
“Our team made easy mistakes and they were just on top of things,” said Blanc.
After the game, Mower said that she was disappointed in the outcome but is looking forward to using Wednesday’s loss as a positive in preparing for the rest of the season.
“I think it’s a good time to sit back and reflect on where we are at as a team and what we need to work. The season is young and it is still going to be exciting,” said Mower.
Wednesday’s 3-0 sweep by Emery makes it the third straight year the Spartans have swept the Dinos. The last time Carbon won against Emery was in 2015, where the Dinos won 3-2.
Carbon will head down to Saint George this weekend for a tournament at Dixie High School.
They will play Kanab first on Friday at 7 p.m. to open the tournament.