San Juan volleyball team suffers home losses to strong opponents

It was a bit of a struggle for the San Juan volleyball team this past week on their home court. The Broncos dropped both matches against tough teams.

On Tuesday, September 28 Kanab came to Blanding and matched the home team point for point. The game was often tied until the Cowboys slipped past the Broncos to take the first set 25-21.

The Broncos struggled to set up a good offense, allowing Kanab to get up by as much as five points. But a timely kill by senior Bailey Brown stopped the run as she hit into the block and it went out.

Over-passes on both sides of the net left spectators unenthusiastic. The Broncos sent back several attacks only to be beaten at the net once again.

Brown answered with a kill off the block on the offhand side. But the Kanab block and serve proved too much for San Juan and they just short in the second set 25-23.

Passes too close to the net to retrieve kept the Broncos feeling low and unable to mount an offense, resulting in a tough 25-11 lopsided loss in the third and final set.

On Friday, October 1, the South Sevier Rams traveled to meet the Broncos on their court. Again, San Juan Battled hard, but the strong Ram offense overcame the home team in a straight-set win 25-19, 25-15, and 25-20.

Kinley Noyes, Jaci Su’esu’e, and Macy Jacobsen had four kills apiece for the Broncos in the loss. Jacobsen led the team in serve receptions with 14, followed closely by Kaeahliyah Howard and Naatannii Lacy with 13 each.

Avina Cordova led San Juan with nine assists for kills, followed by Bailey Brown with five. For South Sevier, Laiken Bigelow and Maggee McRae denied the Broncos at the net with defensive blocks.

McRae and hitter Brynley Christensen were more successful on the Ram offense with kills, collecting eight apiece. Aspen Okerlund simply wouldn’t led the ball drop on the South Sevier side of the net and was credited with 16 digs.

With the losses, San Juan dropped to 5-10 on the year. They’re ranked #19 in the most recent 2A RPI standings released by the Utah High School Activities Association.

This week is a busy one for the Broncos. They stayed at home to host Beaver on Tuesday, October 5 in a key Region 19 matchup.

This Friday and Saturday, October 8-9 they travel to Richfield to play Grantsville, Crimson Cliffs, Emery, and other opponents in the Sevier Valley Invitational.