Bucks finish fifth with stellar performance at 1A volleyball tourney

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School volleyball team was underrated this season. They put that fact on display at the 1A Utah State Volleyball Tournament this past weekend, October 28-29 at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
The folks at the Deseret News knew the Buckaroos were good. They had them ranked fourth heading into the tourney. But the RPI standings many times can be...a little bit off the mark.
MHS was ninth in those standings, which are the official seedings for the tournament brackets. Therefore, after the Bucks waxed #8 Escalante in their second-round matchup, they had an untimely and unfortunate quarterfinal meeting with the #1 and eventual state champion Rich Rebels.
Monticello battled valiantly, but were put down in straight sets by the very in-tune Rebels. But, following the loss the Buckaroos showed their true moxy.
They began play in the fifth-place bracket on Saturday morning against Wayne, which was ranked fifth coming into the tournament.
Monticello jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Badgers, winning hard-fought sets 25-22 and 26-24. Wayne rallied to take set three 25-17, but the Bucks answered in the fourth set, taking the match 25-21.
That set MHS up for a meeting with the third seed in the tournament, Manila. And they made quick work of the Mustangs in a 3-1 victory to take fifth place in the state.
In that match, the Buckaroos opened with a 25-23 win in the first set. Manila took set two 25-18, and from that point Monticello was steeled for the win. They smoked the Mustangs in the third set 25-8, then held them off to close out the match in the fourth 25-23.
The Bucks end the year with a 17-13 record and their fifth-place performance is a bit of a return to form. It’s their highest finish since they lost the 2018 1A championship game to Panguitch. They won six of their last seven games to close out the year, losing only to the state champs.
At the end of the season, senior Ali Barry was Monticello’s real “killer.” She had 179 kills on the year, an average of almost seven per game. Senior Berlynn Black was next in line with 147 kills on the season.
Junior Shayla Pehrson weighed in with 97, senior Rosy Beh had 76, and sophomore Taylor Barry got 70 kills this season.
For those hitters to get kills, they need their teammates to set them up. Taylor Barry led in that department with an astounding 323 assists on the season, an average of 12.4 per game. Senior Abbi Christensen was also impressive in the assists column with 231 this season.
Rosy Beh was the Buckaroos’ toughest server in 2022 with a rating of 2.40 and a serve percentage of 94. She also served up 59 aces on the year. Senior Jade Nielson registered a 2.33 service rating with a 92.1 serve percentage and 41 aces.
Christensen led the team with a 94.6 serve percentage and earned a 2.30 service rating to go along with 27 aces. And Taylor Barry led the team with 63 aces on the season. She got a 2.28 service rating with an 81.9 serve percentage.
Defensively Ali Barry and Berlynn Black led the Buckaroos with 51 blocks apiece, a combination of assisted and solo blocks. Shayla Pehrson had 39 and Taylor Barry blocked 25 opponent attempts.
Senior Avery Shumway was tops for Monticello in digs with 210, an average of over eight per game. Taylor Barry was right behind with 205, Jade Nielson had 172, Rosy Beh got 151, and Abbi Christensen rounded out the top five with 130.
Among players who attempted to receive at least 100 serves Avery Shumway led with a 1.78 rating, Ali Barry had a 1.69, Rosy Beh got a 1.66, senior Amy Lewis got a 1.55, and senior Emmry Wilcox earned a 1.43 rating.
Monticello will lose eight players to graduation this year, so it will indeed be an entirely different team that takes the court in 2023.
Following the close of the season, interim head coach Sheila Wells, who took over midway through, had many good things to say about her experience and the team. Here are most of those comments:
“Our team had a rough go of it with a head coaching change almost mid-season. Change is not always an easy thing to accept, but I feel the girls adjusted quickly to it and am so grateful to them for their willingness to accept me in this new role.
“Although I have coached spring and fall volleyball for 16 years, this was my first experience as head coach for fall high school volleyball and I didn’t realize how much administrative work went into each season.
“With some help from Tony Esplin and a lot of help from Krieg Adair I was able to squeak by on that end of things. With the help of Erin Barry, who thankfully stayed on as assistant coach, and Rianna Shumway who stepped in as a volunteer coach, we were able to juggle the important parts of coaching.
“We had so many great moments this season, but my favorite memory is from the varsity tournament in Richfield when we apparently had a very attractive referee. At the end of the tournament he joined us for a team picture.
“One thing I would change if I could [is having less injuries. We had one just before state that caused us to] frantically rework the line-up and serve receive rotations. But the girls accepted and learned the necessary adjustments quickly. Although our senior, Rosy Beh, was greatly missed on the court, she was a force and inspiration off the court.
“I hope this season meant more to the girls than a fifth-place standing. I hope they have learned that attitude and effort goes a long way in life. I hope their eyes have been opened to their self-worth and I hope they understand their value as they go on to college, get jobs, and find companionship.
“Credit for the success of this season solely belongs to the 20 girls who made up our volleyball team. Whatever was asked of them, whether it was changing how a skill was executed or changing a lineup, they were willing to give it a try.
“We talked a lot about communication, about learning from our mistakes, and about positive self-thinking. I feel the girls worked hard throughout the season, not only in executing the skill changes but in the changing of attitudes and outlooks.
“Due to their efforts, they became a better, more united team. And with these changes, we had vital leaders develop from within our eight seniors that filled the remaining needs of our team. It was an honor to coach these girls and I feel blessed to have had this opportunity.”

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