What if you were forced to chose a word to describe the Park City High School volleyball team’s season?
How about “rollercoaster”?
The Miners’ rollercoaster took another turn downward Thursday at home as Park City fell to visiting Union in four games after taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
So, what is it about this team?
It barely by a thread barely lost to powerhouse Carbon at home.
Defeated rival Wasatch on the road in five games.
Fell to American Leadership Academy in five. Dropped one to Union in four.
Where’s the next turn of the ride? Hopefully, it’s back up for the Miners.
Head coach Katie McLintock knows that it’s a matter of busting through that barrier of not being able to close out games and being hungry to win every point.
“I say volleyball is equally mental as it is physical,” McLintock said. “That’s what definitely kills our team at times.”
“We always put up a really good fight. We were scrappy. We played well. We just have to figure out how to get those last few points.”
After winning an exciting first game 30-28 over the Cougars, Park City ran into that wall that is volleyball. Sometimes, the ball does not go the way teams want it to, and the mental aspect of the game begins to take a serious toll.
After dropping the second and third games, 25-22 and 25-15, the Miners fell in a finale heartbreaker, 26-24.
McLintock had switched the formation to a 6-2 before the game. A 6-2 formation consists of six hitters with two setters usually on the back row. It worked in the first game as Park City emerged victorious in a shootout, but as the game went on, the players’ unfamiliarity with the formation began to emerge.
“We barely worked on it this week, and we kinda got shaky and jittery,” she said.
But the coach is an is a avid supporter of the 6-2, and thinks her team can thrive using it.
McLintock noted that volleyball teams that have emotional leaders on the court usually look to the main setter and libero.
She mentioned that she can rely on seniors Melissa Emerson and Josie Karz to rally the troops in times of need, but knows eventually her team will have to grind it out and get over the mental hump.
“It’s fully in their court,” she said. “I need six players to play.”
While the Miners have struggled to pinpoint their identity, McLintock knows that the region is up for grabs. Wasatch beat Carbon Tuesday, and the rotation of region play continues with Park City heading to Price next week to seek payback against the Dinos.
“Everyone’s beating each other,” McLintock said. “Us losing does not help us at all, but the nice thing is we’re not out of it. It’s going to come down to which team decides to show up on game day. I really hope it’s mine.”