Looking to defend their state championship from a season prior, the Lady Spartans Volleyball team made the trip to Utah Valley University to compete in the 3a state tournament. Throughout the two-day affair, the Lady Spartans would play three matches and accumulate a 1-2 record before bowing out of the tournament in the consolation semifinals.
Game One
In their first game of the tournament, Emery would face the Providence Hall Patriots. This would mark the first meeting between the teams in the 2024 season, a meeting that the Spartans would dominate. Seniors Jabry Sharp and Kate Nelson would provide the spark for Emery, cruising to a 25-11 victory in set one and a 25-12 win in set two.
In the third set, Providence Hall would make things interesting, going blow for blow with the reigning champions. But playoff experience proved to be the difference maker as the Spartans would put away the third set 25-21, earning the win and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Game Two
Emery would meet a familiar playoff foe in the quarterfinals, facing the Morgan Trojans in a rematch of last year’s state championship bout. In a match that would take all five sets to settle, the Spartans would be knocked out of title contention with a 3-2 loss.
Morgan would emerge victorious in set one, in a hotly contested matchup the Trojans would pull away in the closing points to win 25-22. Set two was a complete reversal between the teams, as Emery would find themselves on the winning side of a 25-22 score.
Entering the third set, both teams were looking to grab any advantage they could. In a set that couldn’t be decided in 25 points, the two juggernauts would engage in a back-and-forth affair. When the dust settled, it was the Spartans who emerged victorious with a score of 29-27.
Down but not out, Morgan would bounce back in the fourth set. The duo of senior setter Emma Thurston and junior hitter Josilyn Jaffa would wreak havoc on the Spartans’ front line, leading the Trojans to a 25-19 victory and forcing a fifth and final set.
Playing in the first to 15 format, the Spartans would start fast but fade, falling to the Trojans 15-12 and dropping the match 3-2. The loss knocked Emery out of the winner’s bracket and into the consolation semifinals.
Game Three
Looking for a chance to compete in the fifth and seventh place match, the Spartans’ sole roadblock was the South Summit Wildcats. Playing in a best-of-three series, Emery would fall to the Wildcats 2-0, eliminating them from the tournament.
Set number one would be all South Summit, as the Wildcats would cruise to a 25-12 win. The second set would be much of the same, as South Summit would pull away for a 25-17 victory to move on to the fifth and seventh-place match.
The Spartans end the season with an overall record of 17-13, and finishing fourth in region play with a 8-6 record.
Castle Country Radio would like to congratulate Emery on their stellar season and wish the seniors of the team good luck in their future endeavors.