HYRUM -- The defending Region 11 champions in boys volleyball didn't play their most clean match of the season, but they did show some grit against a determined and talented opponent.
Sky View was certainly tested by Mountain Crest, but battled back from a six-point deficit in the fourth set to prevail 25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23 on Thursday evening. This was only the third set the Bobcats (16-3, 11-0) have lost in 11 region matches this season.
"This is the competition that we want in our region, this is what prepares us for state and that was a fun game," SV head coach Treva McUne said. "And this is what we hope to step into every night."
Mountain Crest (9-10, 4-7) was up to the challenge, to its credit, in a rematch of Sky View's lopsided sweep last month in Smithfield. The Mustangs struggled on serve receive in that match and, simply put, did not take a lot of aggressive swings even when their passing was more on point.
Mountain Crest came out much more assertive offensively in Thursday's rematch, however. The opening set was an entertaining battle that featured a whopping 13 ties and six lead changes as neither team led by more than four points.
"It was a huge difference (from the first match)," MC head coach Caden Finley said. "I feel like something clicked on Tuesday when we played Tooele. And I had nothing to do with Tooele, it had everything to do with our attitude. They've been capable of this type of play all season long and I honestly couldn't tell you what it is ... but they played lights out, they played as a team and their communication was great."
Dynamic Sky View pin hitters Carson McUne and Bear Jackman teamed up for nine kills in the first set, while Mountain Crest middle blocker Logan Fisher delivered six kills. An assertive swing down the line by Like Finnley gave the Bobcats a 24-21 lead, but the Mustangs countered with the next two points. A nice out-of-system swing by Hayden Davis, however, slammed the door for the visitors.
Mountain Crest only trailed once in the second set and that was 1-0. A Christian Hardy kill -- the first of his three putaways in the set -- followed by a Hardy ace gave the Mustangs a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Bobcats sprayed too many swings in the second set as they committed eight attack errors. Sky View, nevertheless, managed to score five points in a row to battle back from a 15-8 deficit, but Mountain Crest countered with a 3-0 run and led by at least three the rest of the way.
The third set was sloppy at times as the Bobcats had nine attack errors and the Mustangs five. Jackman, however, was able to offset those struggles for Sky View as he put away an impressive nine swings during the third set alone, highlighted by three during a 4-0 spurt to give the visitors a commanding 20-12 advantage.
"It was huge," coach McUne said. "We did not have our best passing or hitting night. Most of our hitters who have been hitting in the .300s were hitting negative tonight, which really hurt us. So, to have Bear come alive right there was a big factor for us."
The Bobcats virtually trailed the entire fourth set. Back-to-back huge blocks by Jaydon Sleight did give them some much-needed momentum though, and allowed them to pull even at 18-18.
"We did switch up our offense, our lineup a little bit and I think the matchups were a little bit better and we got a few more blocks," coach McUne said. "And it does bring a lot more momentum to the team when we get those blocks."
The Mustangs, nevertheless, were able to bounce back and took leads of 20-18 and 22-20. Sky View pulled ahead for the first time in the set at 24-23 on a tip by Carson McUne. Standout libero Anthony Marconi then delivered an absolute dagger of a serve right on the line to ensure the visitors avoided a fifth set.
"Oh, it felt amazing, just to know that last serve that I hit, it went in and my heart dropped," Marconi said. "I was like, 'there's no way,' and then we won it, and I was just surprised (I placed it that well)."
Marconi had a few really good digs for the Bobcats, as did Jackman, Davis and McUne. Jackman's sensational save from the very back of the court is what allowed McUne to get the kill that put his team up 24-23 in the final set. Marconi accumulated an impressive 29 digs.
"I put 100 percent in," Marconi answered when asked how much pride he takes in fulfilling his primarily responsibilities as a libero. "I want to make sure the digs I have are good, the passes I have, I just want to make sure I put in 100 percent effort all the time."
Jackman came through with 22 kills and 13 digs, while Carson McUne produced a triple-double of 13 kills, 14 digs and 14 assists and Davis just missed out on a triple-double with his nine kills, 15 digs and 19 assists.
Fisher paced the Mustangs in kills with 11, followed by Brixton Whoolery with eight and Noah Pruden with six on 11 swings. Both Mustang middle blockers, Fisher and Pruden, were difference makers Thursday.
(They were) huge," said Finley, whose team scored three of its first 10 points of the third set on blocks that either Fisher or Pruden factored into. "I mean, we knew Sky View was going to be a really good defensive team and they're a good blocking team, so we tried to speed up our offense and we tried to put balls away even harder. I feel like when we played Sky View the first time we were really timid; we were tipping a lot; we were sending over a lot of free balls; and tonight we were way more aggressive. And it just put us in the right mood to be able to compete with (Sky View)."
Breckan Jessup accounted for a double-double of 25 assists and 14 digs for the Mustangs, who got 12 digs each from Noah Estey and Brogan Ritchie -- one on a really nice pancake -- three aces from Hardy and three blocks from Pruden.
OTHER THURSDAY MATCHES
Green Canyon (13-5, 8-3) earned a gratifying 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 sweep of visiting Stansbury -- the two teams were tied for third in the region standings heading into the match -- while second-place Ridgeline (13-6, 9-2) bounced back from Tuesday's loss to Stansbury (8-5, 7-4) by sweeping visiting Bear River (5-15, 2-9) by convincing scores of 25-12, 25-15, 25-16.
"Yeah, I would say Stansbury's a great team," GC head coach Johnathan Timpke said. "They've got solid hitters that block very well. They're also very scrappy and don't let things drop. We did start off a little slow today; we played a little tired and quiet. Once we got louder and started talking, things started to click a little more."
Andrew Pinochi came through with a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs, plus he served up two aces, for the Riverhawks; while Matthew Hanson chipped in with nine kills; Kolby Laing with 16 assists; and Teyfen Jones with 11 digs.
This story will be updated when more statistics are available.