The weekend’s state volleyball tournament culminated in two very talented teams, Rich and Panguitch, facing off in the finals.
On October 28 and 29 1A teams from all over the state gathered for the volleyball state tournament at the SVC in Richfield. The Richfield Reaper reported “a bunch of Sevier, Piute, and Wayne county teams playing well above their seeding.”
Piute was in 11th seed at the beginning of the tournament. Despite the odds, however, Piute went on to beat Valley, a six-seeded team, and Manila, a 3-seeded team, before losing in the semifinals to Panguitch.
Amazing feat for the Lady T-Birds!
Piute then played a close 5-set game against Tabiona, eventually taking 4th.
Volleyball Tournament Finals
But Panguitch played the most exciting game of the season.
Panguitch came into the finals a 2-seeded team with a very good track record for destroying their opponents. This team was not going to go down easy.
And they didn’t.
Rich won the first two sets at a close 25-23 and then 25-20. Panguitch then won the next two 25-17 and 25-14. The two teams were now tied, and the state title could belong to either one.
That was when Rich stepped it up. “Panguitch is a great team,” their head coach Wendy Lamborn told Deseret News. “They blocked us a lot better than we expected, but we stepped up to the plate finally.”
Sadly for the loyal Panguitch fans the Rich Rebels took the last set 15-13, taking home the win.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bobcats, but it was such an exciting game!
“I think that’s the hardest game we’ve ever played in our entire lives,” added Coach Wendy Lamborn.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Hallie W. (Sr) of Panguitch spikes the ball at Nya J. (Jr) and Elly A. (Sr) in the 1A Championship Game against Rich High School (Randolph). Panguitch took second place at State.
See more details about the tournament on maxpreps.com.