Prep volleyball: Previewing Region 1 and Roy’s outlook in Region 2
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- Syracuse High’s Mikelle Neilson (12, center) receives the ball as teammates, from left, Tehana Mo’o, Kambree Rodriguez, Kallie Johansen and Andie Thomas look on during a match against Fremont on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, at Syracuse High School.
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- Roy teammates Jessie Funk (16) and Sierra Jones (14) embrace during a 6A first-round volleyball playoff match against Farmington on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, at Roy High School.
High school volleyball started last week and will soon shift into top gear. Here’s a breakdown of Region 1, as well as Roy High’s prospects in Region 2, below as the 6A teams in Northern Utah.
REGION 1
Region 1 volleyball is marked by three new head coaches — Kate Hawkes (Farmington) Analaine Mailoto (Fremont) and Hannah DeYoung (Layton) — plus lots of graduations from the recent powerhouses Fremont and Syracuse.
What does that mean for 2022? Possibly a more open region from top to bottom than it has been lately.
Starting with the defending region champion Syracuse, the Titans graduated four-year starting setter Hailee Garcia, but return Utah State-committed Libero Kambree Rodriguez, right-side hitter Tehana Mo’o’, outsides Kallie Johnansen and Mikelle Neilsen, and middle blocker Sariah Nanney.
“We are a different team than we were last year. We are very young in some areas; so, for us to be successful this year, we need to be very deliberate and intentional with our training in practice,” Syracuse coach Corrie Vigil said.
Brilyn Jensen, a junior, takes over at setter in place of Garcia, who’s at Division-I St. Mary’s College.
Davis returns three of its top four hitters, led by Aubrey Nielson (349 kills), Brinley Bush and middle hitter Loryn Helgesen, who led the team last year with 54 blocks. Setter Aimee Larsen, third on the team with 160 assists, returns and gives the Darts hitters someone who at least has game experience setting to that group.
“Our goal this season is to win region. We have been talking about it every day, and it is something that motivates us every day in practice,” Davis coach Mckay Barker said.
The Darts were streaky last year, often alternating between winning 2-3 games in a row and losing 2-3 in a row.
Just down the street, Farmington has a new head coach in Hawkes.
The Phoenix went 10-15 last year but has seven seniors, and one of them is a top all-around player in the area, Sophie Wendt (225 kills, 297 assists, 301 digs).
Layton’s new coach is Hannah DeYoung, an LHS alum who finished playing collegiately at Weber State in 2019.
The Lancers finished 6-23 and 0-12 in Region 1 last season. They return four of their top players from last year: outside hitter Logan Lindsay, libero Emily Parke, outside hitter Anna Merrill and outside/right-side hitter Kadie Sheriff.
DeYoung said she and the new coaching staff are focused on the process and not the outcome.
“In practice, our girls are being very mindful about doing skills correctly rather than doing what’s comfortable. By working hard we are going to find consistency. Consistency leads to confidence and confidence leads to success,” she said.
Clearfield is coming off a third-place finish in Region 1 and its best season overall since 2014. Brooke Pehrson, a Syracuse and Idaho State alumnus, is in her second year as head coach.
Additional information about the Falcons wasn’t provided.
Fremont alum Analaine Mailoto takes over as the Silverwolves’ head coach after a wildly successful run at 3A Union High punctuated by three straight state championship triumphs over traditional powerhouse Morgan.
Additional info about the Silverwolves wasn’t provided.
Weber went 15-17 last year and graduated its starting setter and only one of its top six hitters.
Additional info about the Warriors wasn’t provided.
Overall, though, Region 1 had a pretty good showing at last year’s state tournament with Syracuse finally getting to a long-desired semifinal and eventually winning third place.
Weber won all three games in the sixth-place bracket and beat Farmington in five sets in the sixth/eighth-place game. Farmington also had to win two matches to get there, one of which was against Clearfield.
ROY IN REGION 2
Roy High’s move to Region 2 helped a lot of the school’s sports be more competitive on a game-by-game basis instead of hanging out near the bottom of Region 1.
Volleyball was one of the biggest beneficiaries, posting a 14-9 record with a 10-2 Region 2 mark and hosted a state playoff game for the first time since 1997.
Ultimately, the Royals were swept in that playoff game by Farmington.
Outside hitter Sierra Jones and outside hitter Kjerstin Waite are the only returning starters, but head coach Madi Robins is excited about where things may be going.
“Our team goal is to continue to push a lot of the toxicity out of sports. It has been truly my one and only goal in coaching this team, and we really have achieved it in so many ways,” she said.
The Royals were second in Region 2 behind Hunter last year. Robins said she expects Hunter to be at or near the top of the region again, and she expects Roy to be close to the top as well.
“I’m really excited about our team and this upcoming year, we got a lot of wrinkles to iron out, but excited to be entering this season coming off of a second-place region finish. The goal is to win all of region this year and get some really good volleyball in,” Robins said.