For the second year in a row, the Corner Canyon High girls volleyball team reached the semifinals at the 6A state tournament. This time, the Chargers finished fourth after losing to Mountain Ridge 25-15, 25-21 in the third/fourth place game Nov. 8 at Utah Valley University.

“We had a tough week, battling injuries and sickness,” said CCHS head coach Melinda Ricks. “The girls stepped up and played as a team to fill in the spots of our missing starters.”

Corner Canyon entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and, after a first-round bye, swept 13th-seeded Weber 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 Nov. 7 in the second round. Senior Saryn Kirkham led with 14 kills while junior Halle Bills added eight. Senior Maicyn Allan served up seven aces and recorded 16 assists in running the offense. Defensively, senior Sadie Brown had 12 digs on the back line and freshman Maija Mortensen stuffed two blocks at the net.

In the quarterfinals, the Chargers defeated Syracuse in a tight five-set match 23-25, 25-20, 14-25, 25-20, 15-13.

Bills had a monster night with 24 kills with Kirkham and senior Madelin Newbold adding 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior Brooke Stauffer had 38 assists while Allan recorded a double-double of 12 assists and 16 digs to go with three aces. Brown led the defense with 23 digs and junior Reagan Williams added 10 with Allan, Mortensen and junior Victoria Page combining for seven blocks.

In the semifinals against top-seeded Pleasant Grove Nov. 8, Corner Canyon lost 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22. Bills put away 17 kills and Newbold had 12. Brown’s 17 digs led defensively with freshman Torri Hildebrandt adding 11 and Mortensen, Newbold and Page teaming up for seven blocks at the net.

Bills’ 11 kills led the Chargers in a 25-15, 25-21 loss to Mountain Ridge in third/fourth place game Nov. 8 to end the season. Brown had 11 digs in the loss.

“These girls are amazing,” Ricks said. “They played for each other and played as a true team. Most teams would have crumbled under the circumstances but these athletes showed up and gave 100%, leaving it all on the court.”

Ricks particularly noted the leadership of her captains in Stauffer, Kirkham and Bills. “They led by example, showing what Charger volleyball is all about,” Ricks said. 

Bills averaged more than 15 kills during the state tournament run, hitting over .300. “She stepped up as a captain and took charge on the court,” Ricks said, also noting the play of Newbold and Mortensen who also had over .300 hitting efficiency while leading the team in blocks.

Bills recorded 422 kills on the season with Kirkham, Newbold and Mortensen also among the team leaders. Brown, Stauffer and Williams combined for 120 of the team’s 223 aces from the serving line while Stauffer ran the offense with more than 800 assists. On the defensive side, Brown had nearly 300 digs with Williams recording 205 and Bills 193. Mortensen and Newbold were the leading blocks with 51 and 50, respectively.

Also on the CCHS team that went 23-9 this season were seniors Jules Barber and Kallee Klingler; juniors Kathryn Armendariz, Faith Kittel, Ava Morgan and Libby Taylor; sophomores Shayla Kirkham and Elle Tolley; and freshmen London Burke, Leah Schaub and Maia Schwalger.