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Miners manage clean sweep

Ski swaps scheduled all over the area, of the Record staff

It’s always a great feeling to beat Judge Memorial on the volleyball court for the Park City High School volleyball team. But yesterday’s win in five tight games, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 24-26, 12-15, was different. It gave them their second victory and a clean sweep of the Bulldogs for the season a feat that is somewhat historic.

According to Park City head volleyball coach Ed Potts, the team has not accomplished such a feat in his eight-year tenure with the program.

"I can’t remember one time that we’ve swept this team. That’s huge," Potts said.

The Miners established their territory by stealing the first game on the Bulldogs’ home court, but Judge quickly answered back by winning the next two games.

"They jumped on us," Potts said.

the fourth game, a mixture of Park City serving the ball well and more calm and consistent play by the Miners’ outside hitters helped then win game four.

"The outside hitters won the last few games," Potts said.

In the fifth game, much like the first meeting of the two teams earlier in the season, the Bulldogs backed off and played a more passive game. The Miners capitalized on the situation by covering the court well.

Finishing the evening on a strong note seems to be the biggest edge that the Miners have against the Bulldogs.Otherwise, the two teams seem fairly evenly matched. Potts says that is the best part of the rivalry this year.

"There were great rallies and they were huge," Potts said. "It was almost a full minute before a point was scored."

With fairly even play throughout the entire match, the play of the middle hitters was also important. Senior Kelly Barger led the team with key blocks that kept the Miners in every game.

"She had tons of huge blocks," Potts said.

Potts was also pleased with the performance of sophomore libero Hallie McGee, who came in the middle of the games to give the team a boost with their passing.

Outside hitter Lauren Deane relished the sweep perhaps more than any other Miners. Tuesday’s match was the first the junior had played on the Park City side of the net after transferring to Park City this year from Judge after her older brother, Daniel, graduated.

"It’s great to have Lauren Deane play in front of her old school," Potts said. "It’s [the win] a great feeling for the girls to give her."

Keyed up with excitement and adrenaline to play at Judge, Deane had a few errant passes early in the night, but Potts said her power was a major factor in the final two games.

"She stepped it up and that’s how it should be," Potts said.

The win comes at a key time for the Miners, who are vying for a playoff spot in Region 10. The biggest advantage to beating Judge is winning the tiebreaker if there is a tie for the fourth seed.

"Winning this game is huge, because really they are the only team that can tie us," Potts said.

But the Miners are hoping to play well enough to secure the third seed in Region 10. One spot lower means facing a state powerhouse in their first playoff game.

"It’s important to get into State, but we’re fighting for position," Potts said.

Currently the Miners are in fourth place in the region with just two weeks left in regular season play.

A 3-0 loss (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) against Uintah on Thursday puts the Miners at 3-5 in the region.

The Miners will be in action again on Tuesday, Oct. 10 when they play at Union at 7 p.m.

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