Lady Cougars finish eighth at 1A Utah State Volleyball Tournament

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monument Valley High School volleyball team entered the 1A Utah State Tournament this past weekend as the #9 seed. They traveled to Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, October 24 to face #8 Valley in the second round of the tournament.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Lady Cougars who fell in the first set by a score of 25-16. They rallied to make set two close, but fell just short in a 25-22 final. The girls suffered a 25-14 loss in the third set, falling by a match final of 3-0.
Sophomore Naomi White led Monument Valley’s offensive attack with seven kills in the loss. Fellow sophomore Samara Sheppard had four kills and senior Ayainna Cly added three.
Seniors Enderya Hernandez-Cipriano and LeighAn Atene served up two aces apiece while White and freshman Peyton Tome got one apiece.
Cly also assisted on 12 Lady Cougar points in the match, White had three blocks, and freshman Saundra Lee blocked one hit from Valley.
The loss dropped Monument Valley to the sixth-place bracket where they were playing to keep their season alive against #16 Escalante. All their matches for the remainder of the tournament were best-of-three-set contests.
In the sixth-place quarterfinals the Lady Cougars handled the Lady Moquis easily 25-11 and 25-17. White again led the team with eight kills. Senior Dakotah Cly got four kills in the win.
Four Monument Valley players had two kills apiece: sophomore Temaya Abbaker, Hernandez-Cipriano, Ayainna Cly, and junior Meliyah Holiday.
White served the only ace in the match for the Lady Cougars and Ayainna Cly had 13 assists. Defensively, sophomore Nay’myia Morgan and White both had seven digs.
Ayainna Cly had five digs, and junior Nizhoni Yazzie and Tome got four each. Dakotah Cly blocked two Escalante hits and Abbaker had one block in the win.
With a couple of early games Monument Valley was finished for Friday, and they were set for a sixth-place semifinal showdown with #13 Altamont at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 25.
The Lady Cougars suffered a 25-17 loss in the opening set of the match, but overcame their slow start with a two-set sweep of the Lady Longhorns 25-21 and 25-10.
This time Hernandez-Cipriano was the leading attacker with eight kills. White had five while Sheppard and Ayainna Cly had two apiece.
Monument Valley served up an impressive 12 aces in their second win of the weekend with Holiday and White serving three each and Yazzie, Morgan, and Hernandez-Cipriano serving two apiece.
Holiday and Ayainna Cly combined to assist on ten points for the Lady Cougars with five helpers each.
Monument Valley dug 71 Altamont shots in the win. Morgan had 18, White 17, Yazzie and Ayainna Cly ten each, Hernandez-Cipriano seven, Holiday five, and Sheppard and Abbaker two each.
Monument Valley’s 21st win of the season meant they would play in the state sixth-place match against the tenth-seeded Piute Lady Thunderbirds.
It’s always a challenge to play back-to-back matches, and that’s exactly what this was. An immediate match with no break after their previous match.
The Lady Cougars battled, keeping the match so close that it required overtime in the second set, but they suffered a two-set sweep to Piute 25-21 and 26-24, finishing the state tournament in eighth place.
White led the team one final time this season with four kills. Yazzie and Hernandez-Cipriano served two aces each. Ayainna Cly collected eight assists.
White also led the defensive effort for Monument Valley with 14 digs while Morgan tallied seven. Lee, White, and Dakotah Cly blocked one Piute shot each.
The Lady Cougars finished the year with a 21-12 overall record. They tied Monticello in Region 19 play with a 7-1 record.
As a sophomore Naomi White was absolutely amazing for Monument Valley this year. Her 78 service aces currently rank 11th in the state and her 296 kills are 28th.
White also led the team with 45 blocks and 313 digs. She didn’t lead every single statistic category for the Lady Cougars though.
Ayainna Cly tallied a very solid 515 assists this season which is currently tied for 39th in the state. She also had 95 kills on the season, 73 digs, 43 assists, and three blocks.
Enderya Hernandez-Cipriano collected 130 kills, 61 service aces, and 24 digs. LeighAn Atene had 79 kills on the year with 30 aces, four assists, and three blocks.
Samara Sheppard rounded out the top six attackers for the Lady Cougars with 57 kills. She also had five digs and two blocks this season.
Summarizing the season following the close of the state tournament Monument Valley Head Coach Harrison Miles said, “This team had resiliency. They always had the ability to bounce back.
“A few games skipped away from us but overall we had a great season. I enjoyed watching this team play.”
The Lady Cougars will lose four players to graduation this year but will return four of their biggest contributors in 2026 and should be poised for another strong season.