Coming off a tough Region 10 loss to Morgan last week, the Park City High School volleyball team has stepped up this week in matches at Juan Diego on Tuesday and at home against Uintah on Thursday.
The Miners continued their season-long success against the Soaring Eagle in Draper on Tuesday, winning a hard-fought match in four sets 25-12, 22-25, 26-24, 25-23. Park City coach Ashley Driscoll said the match really showed what the Miners are all about.
“After the Morgan loss, where we never really played our game, it took a while to work back into our rhythm,” she said. “But that was a key victory on the road. You’re always looking to see how you respond and the girls stepped up. That gave us a big boost.”
The Miners continued that momentum into Thursday’s match against Uintah, where they played perhaps their strongest volleyball of the season. Park City won in straight sets, 25-16, 25-10, 25-17.
“It was a lot of fun for the girls and it was fun to watch them enjoy that moment,” Driscoll said. “It was really a whole-team win.”
Whitney Wakefield continued her strong play at the net on Thursday, leading the Miners with eight kills.
“She’s had two-straight phenomenal matches,” Driscoll said.
Chrissy Glasmann and Tressa Buckland each had six kills. Sammee Thomas led the Miners with 17 assists in the match.
Now, Park City is looking to finish the season strong. The Miners have two remaining Region 10 games Tuesday at Union and Thursday, Oct. 23, vs. Morgan. Driscoll said even though the Miners are looking forward to a rematch against the Trojans, they won’t take the match against the Cougars for granted.
“We’re looking forward to that challenge,” she said. “They’re a great team.”
But then, all focus will shift toward Morgan, with the Miners hoping to clinch a Region 10 title in the rematch. Driscoll said having the home crowd behind them will be a great help against the Trojans.
“Obviously, when we look back [at the first game vs. Morgan], it was a mental thing,” she said. “It was in their gym and they had a great crowd it just has that effect sometimes. We never got into playing our game. We’ll work on controlling that [in the rematch].”
Tuesday’s varsity match in Roosevelt will start at 7 p.m. Next Thursday’s Senior Night match against Morgan will also feature a 7 p.m. varsity start time.