By John Renshaw
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7:39 AM, Sep. 7, 2011|
| HURRICANE - The Hurricane Tigers volleyball team is young and dangerous.
With five sophomores and two juniors primarily leading the squad, the young
guns have produced positive results early in this season. On Tuesday night, however,
the Tigers showcased their potential in heir first Region 9 game. In a thrilling and
bitterly fought match against state power Dixie, Hurricane defied the odds and
overcame a 2-0 deficit with a stunning five-set win (17-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-
16, 16-14) in front of an emotional and raucous crowd.
"A lot of people assume we can't compete because we're young," said sophomore
outside hitter Sela Filo, who finished with 10 kills, 11 digs, and three blocks. "But we
know we can play. We have a ton of confidence in everybody on this team."
Hurricane's (1-0 region; 10-1 overall) youth showed early as Dixie controlled
momentum and tempo in taking the first two sets.
"I think we came into this game intimidated," said Tigers coach Daniel
McKeehan. "But I had belief all along we could win this game."
Dixie's (0-1, 3-8) early poise soon slipped as the home crowd's presence grew more
intense with each Hurricane point. The Tigers' wins in the third and fourth sets
helped setup a dramatic and very exciting fifth.
Like two great bulls of equal strength, the Flyers and Tigers went backÐand-forth
with extreme ferociousness one could expect to see in a state tournament game.
Whether it was hard-hitting dives to the floor, big-time blocks at the net or
incredible rallies, the fans were certainly entertained while the respective coach's
stress levels rose.
Led by Kaylie Jensen's stellar play from the left wing, Dixie gained the edge early,
taking leads of 4-2 and 10-8. With every excuse to fold, Hurricane chose the
opposite and kept scrapping to keep pace. Sophomore Brooklyn Gubler's (16 kills) kill
from the left-wing tied the score at 12. On the ensuing play, the outside hitter struck
again, this time coming up clutch at the center of the net with a quick strike past
Dixie's front line.
"We love playing in front of our home crowd. They (fans) give us such a boost,"
Gubler said. "The fact we're all young helped us come together as a team. Over
the summer, we put in a lot of practice time, which helped us become a more
cohesive unit on the court."
Dixie's Anna Shillander (three blocks) made a critical block on Gubler to force a 13-13 t
ie. After the two region foes traded points, Gubler's lob from the left wing fell between
the Flyers defense, giving the Tigers a 15-4 lead. On match point, Dixie couldn't
execute offensively as their ensuing strike veered out of bounds toward Hurricane's
student body, giving the home team a dramatic win.
McKeehan said the band of young players thrives under pressure because they have
nothing to lose, but did add some improvements still need to be made going
forward, particularly with the Tigers' net play.
Hannah Harrah led Dixie's effort with 15 kills and 35 digs. Kaylee Jensen added
nine kills and Jocie Bundy contributed six assists.
Shania Hurst converted 19 kills to help lead Hurricane's victory.
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