Three county volleyball teams advance to state second round, continue play this Friday

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
It’s been a pretty solid past two weeks for high school volleyball teams representing San Juan County. Three of the four teams advanced to the second round of their respective state tournaments with play set to resume this Friday, October 28.
1A #9 Monticello
The Monticello Buckaroos won five of their last eight games in a swing that included some tough opponents at the 1A-2A Clash in Richfield October 14 and 15.
MHS beat Whitehorse, Rowland Hall, Escalante, and Monument Valley in that period, finishing the regular season with a 14-12 record, ranked ninth in the 1A RPI standings.
They’re the only local team to earn a first-round bye but they’ll be playing in a tough bracket in the tournament this weekend. If they can get by #8 Escalante again, they would likely face the #1 Rich Rebels in the 1A quarterfinals.
The Buckaroos’ second-round game against the Moquis is set for 9 a.m. this Friday, October 28 at the Sevier Valley Center.
1A #12
Monument Valley
Monument Valley went 3-5 in the last two weeks of the regular season with a Region 23 win over Pinnacle and wins over Rowland Hall and Milford at the 1A-2A Clash.
The Cougars finished the regular season with an 8-6 record, good enough for 12th in the 1A ranks. That set them up for a first-round home state tournament matchup with Diamond Ranch this past Saturday, October 22.
Monument Valley handled the Diamondbacks easily in the game, winning in straight sets 25-17, 25-6, and 25-14. With the win the Cougars advanced to the second round where they’ll take on the tough #5-ranked Wayne Badgers.
If Monument Valley can muster an upset, it’ll continue to get tougher as they move through the bracket this weekend. They would likely face #4 Tabiona in the state quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
The Cougars’ second-round matchup with Wayne is also set for 9 a.m. this Friday, October 28 at the Sevier Valley Center.
2A #11 San Juan
The San Juan volleyball team lost six of the last seven games of their regular season, but four of those losses came at the tough Sevier Valley Tournament in Richfield October 7 and 8.
The Broncos’ lone win in that time period was against Pine View, also at the Sevier Valley Tournament. But the girls from Blanding had built a strong enough record that they finished 12-13, ranked #11 in the 2A RPI standings.
San Juan started the 2A state tournament strong this past Saturday, October 22 with a first-round straight-sets domination of Merit Preparatory Academy in the SJHS gymnasium, 25-4, 25-8, and 25-12.
It’s the first time the Broncos have advanced to the second round of the state tournament since 2020 and first-year head coach Misty Perkins couldn’t be more proud.
“This hasn’t happened for a while, but it’s happening this year for these girls and that’s exciting!” said Perkins. “[The girls] have played some tough teams this season but I feel it has helped strengthen their game.”
“Our goal from the beginning was to tune up the volleyball skills for the girls,” she continued. “Part of that goal was to stress the importance of team unity. We feel they’ve reached that goal and are playing for each other and trusting their coaches and each other on the court.”
Perkins said one of the keys to the Broncos’ solid play when they’re on their game is improved “volleyball IQ – putting more pressure on the ball, learning how to speed up the game, and how to place the ball instead of just swinging away.”
San Juan coaches are hoping the team can bring the determination and team unity they’ve exhibited to the remainder of the state tournament. They have their hands full in the second round against the #6 Millard Eagles.
2A teams are playing the evening games at the Sevier Valley Center this Friday, so the Broncos won’t get started until 5:30 p.m.
An upset win would not only move San Juan into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 but would also set them up for a tough matchup against #3 North Summit Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
1A #18 Whitehorse
Whitehorse won two of the last four games of their regular season, both against the Pinnacle Panthers in Region 23 matchups.
The Raiders finished the season with a 3-9 record and were ranked 18th heading into the first round of the 1A state tournament.
Unfortunately the team was unable to advance to the second round when they suffered a 3-2 loss to #15 Tintic on the road this past Saturday, October 22.
After losing the first set to the Miners 25-13, Whitehorse rallied to take the next two in nailbiters 25-20 and 25-22. It was looking like the Raiders might get the upset, but Tintic stormed back to take the fourth and fifth sets 25-11 and 15-10 to bring an end to the Whitehorse season.
The team finishes the year with a 3-10 overall record; they were 2-6 in Region 23 play. The Raiders’ third win came against Chesterton Academy of Albuquerque at a tournament on September 23.

San Juan Record

49 South Main St
PO Box 879
Monticello, UT 84535

Phone: 435.587.2277
Fax: 435.587.3377
news@sjrnews.com
Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday