LAYTON — After a bumpy ride earlier in the week, things were more stable for the ’Ridge on Thursday.
“We were like a roller coaster against Layton (on Tuesday in a five-set road loss),” said Northridge junior outside hitter Kaitlin Verbitski. “It was an awesome team win today and it was real fun.”
In a back-and-forth Region 1 tussle with Syracuse High, the Knights prevailed 25-16, 18-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12 in 1 hour and 51 minutes.
“We played a lot of tough teams in preseason and winning set 5 was a turning point because we were playing with intensity,” the 16-year-old Verbitski said. “We all worked together as a team, kept up the intensity and found the want to win in our hearts.
“It wasn’t like we gave up against Layton. We just made more errors,” she said. “Working as a team is really all it is. We’re not happy being 2-2, but I think we’ll do better against those teams the second time around.”
Northridge rallied from a 6-2 set 5 deficit against the Titans.
“This will boost our confidence even more because it went to a fifth set,” Verbitski said. “We know when the match is tight, we can win. We all did well today and everybody did their part. We had a couple of new players, Ashley Vernier (four aces) and Keana Smalls, come in and that helped us.”
Verbitski had 12 kills, two block assists, 11 digs and two aces. Brittley Eldredge had 14 kills, one solo block and three block assists; Alex Gardner had six kills and two block assists; Shayd Wright had three kills and eight digs; setter Aimee Kyed had 31 assists, two kills, two block assists and four digs; and libero Nikki Hansen had 22 digs, one assist and one ace for the Knights (10-12 overall, 2-2 league).
The Titans’ Maggie Hansen had 14 kills and 15 digs; Lizzy Reich had 11 kills and 11 blocks; Maddi Bitton had 11 kills and nine blocks; setter Brook Follett had 21 assists; setter Breckell Soifua had 20 assists; and libero Takenna Hamblin had 20 digs for Syracuse (14-9, 0-4).
• davis def. weber 25-17, 25-18, 25-12: At Pleasant View, the Darts’ Kaylie Kamalu had 11 kills, three digs and one ace; Tanisha Langston had 10 kills, eight digs and two aces; Marissa Todd had seven kills, two block assists, three digs and three aces; and setter Jamie Selleneit had 17 assists and four aces for defending state 5-A champion Davis (23-1, 4-0).
The Warriors are 13-10, 0-4.
• layton def. fremont 25-16, 26-24, 25-14: At Layton High, the Lancers’ Eliza Katoa had 31 kills, one block assist, two digs and one ace; Corinne Rhoton had five kills, four block assists and one ace; and setter Mckell Moss had 30 assists and six digs for Layton (14-8, 4-0).
Silver Wolves setter McKenzie Burrows had 18 assists, four kills and six digs and libero Sariah Pelaez had 18 digs for Fremont (11-10, 2-2).
Region 5
• Sky View def. Bonneville 25-20, 25-18, 29-27: At Smithfield, the Lakers’ Kalyn Sotomayor had five kills, five solo blocks, four block assists and one ace; Kelly Roberts had seven kills, three solo blocks, eight digs and one ace; McKell Goddard had four solo blocks and eight block assists; Tavia Young had two kills, four solo blocks and 11 digs; setter Elora Penrod had seven assists; and setter Andy Hancock had five assists for Bonneville (7-8, 1-1).
• Mountain Crest def. Roy 25-14, 25-16, 25-23: At Hyrum, the Royals are 2-12, 0-2.
Region 6
• Woods Cross def. Clearfield 25-7, 25-13, 25-20: At Woods Cross, the Falcons fell to 3-20, 0-2.
Region 11
• Grantsville def. Ogden 20-25, 25-20, 25-15, 20-25, 15-12: At Ogden High, the Tigers’ Madi Kramer had 11 kills and nine service points; Chloe Oki had 10 kills, one solo block, five digs and four service points; setter Clara Call had 15 assists, four digs and 10 service points; and libero Taelynn Abrego had 10 digs, three kills, two assists and 12 service points for Ogden (5-9, 0-6).
• Tooele def. Bear River 25-11, 25-23, 25-18: At Tooele, the Bears are 4-13, 1-5.
Region 17
• St. Joseph def. Layton Christian 25-18, 25-12, 25-19: At Layton Christian, the Jayhawks’ Britt Sederholm had eight kills, eight digs and one ace; Audra Thurston had seven kills, two solo blocks and five aces; Jessie Bischoff had five kills and three digs; setters Bailey Pacheco and Emily Jackson combined for 21 assists; and libero Mady White had eight digs and two aces for St. Joseph (11-0, 5-0).
The Eagles are 10-6, 5-1.
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