2A volleyball: Layton Christian advances semis

Orem » The excitement started to build in the fourth game. The Layton Christian players sensed the momentum and were giddy over the imminent win. When San Juan's Kelsi Meyer, the Broncos' leader in kills, hit the ball into the net on Layton Christian's match point, the Eagles erupted in celebration.

LCA beat San Juan 25-23, 13-25, 25-22, 25-15 in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A state tournament at Utah Valley University on Thursday.

It is the Eagles' 21st consecutive win this season.

"This is my seventh year here and we're just trying to teach kids to compete," said LCA coach Joy Nakaishi "To beat a team like that and to show we can fight back, it's an honor."

It was a big win not only this season but for the program. It's the farthest LCA has ever advanced in the state tournament and to do it over San Juan, -a program that has won nine state titles since 1997 -- the players were too excited for words.

"I'm speechless," said setter Taelor Scroggins, who had 40 assists. "We're making history right now. We don't care who we play tomorrow. We've come too far to lose."

Both teams featured two strong middle blockers. Layton Christian had senior Jasmine Porter, who led the Eagles with 23 kills. San Juan has a balanced offensive attack but there's no question sophomore middle Kelsi Meyer is a go-to player. She had big blocks and paced the Broncos with 14 kills.

"It was

definitely a battle of the middles," Nakaishi said. "We shut her down and she shut us down."

But the Eagles had a better passing game and that seemed to be the difference in the match.

"This team has struggled with passing all year," said San Juan coach Cassy Moon. In the middle of the season, the team went back to basics and focused on passing. The team steadily improved but on Thursday, San Juan reverted back to its old ways. "This was an oddity."

Layton Christian has finished seventh in the tournament the last two years. Porter, who has played varsity since her freshman year, said her team has gone through quite a transformation.

"It hurt a lot last year [to lose so early]," Porter said. "But without losing, you can't get better. This is awesome."

Grand def. North Summit 25-16, 26-28, 25-21, 25-23 » Grand's Shelby Dalton was almost unstoppable with 37 kills and seven solo blocks. She also had six digs. Setter Sara Hirschfeld had four aces to go along with 38 assists in the win. Grand will play South Summit in the semifinals.

Waterford def. Beaver 25-17, 15-25, 25-12, 25-21 » Waterford's outside hitters have been dependable all season long and they came through in the Ravens' win over Beaver in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Laura Lee Judd and Carol Chase Peterson each had 10 kills. Setter Chandler Rosenberg was also all over the court for Waterford.

South Summit def. Enterprise 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14 » The Wildcats were down 12-5 in the fifth game but rallied and held Enterprise to just two points the rest of the way to take the game and the match.

"That is the team I know," South Summit coach Becky Dees said. "They've fought back so many times [this season]. We never gave up."

mthach@sltrib.com