Prep volleyball: Hawks fly past Tigers

Orem » Expectations have always been high for North Sanpete's Lindsay Bradley. During the Hawks three-game quarterfinal three-game sweep (25-21, 25-13, 25-21) of defending 3A champion Hurricane the McKay Events Center on Friday, however, Bradley was her own biggest critic, shaking her head in frustration after each flubbed set or overshot strike.

Not that either happened very often.

Bradley finished with nine kills and two blocks to lead the Hawks to their first semifinal appearance since 2005.

"I'm hard on her because she has so much potential, but she just handles it," said North Sanpete coach Rickie Stewart. "When she makes an error, she just goes and gets it back. She's our little spark plug out there."

On this day, however, North Sanpete didn't need much of a light.

The rest of the Hawks had set the bar equally high and, after trailing early in the first game, they rallied to a 17-17 tie and secured the first game with a late 8-4 run.

Following their first game comeback, the Hawks continued to roll past the Tigers in the second round, led by the offensive duo of Bailee Kendall and Shelby Earl who combined for 21 kills. That momentum carried right into opening play of game three as Kendall sent a blistering shot deep into Hurricane's backcourt that the Tigers couldn't contain.

"It certainly gave us confidence. This is a game of confidence," said Stewart.

"We haven't had everyone firing on all cylinders until this morning."

Meanwhile, with star striker Sadi Hoyt was on the bench due to injuries suffered in an ATV accident last weekend, Hurricane was playing shorthanded. That didn't mean they were done fighting.

Late in the third game, blocker Chloe Fawson settled a few balls in the Hawks front court to lead the Tigers to a late rally that threatened to force a fourth game.

But a series of costly net shots earlier in the round would be too much for the shorthanded Tigers to overcome. They'll face Grantsville in the fifth and seventh place bracket game today at 9 a.m.

"[Hurricane] has had a couple of tough breaks," said Stewart. "It breaks your heart to see her on the sideline, but they played well. Any time you can get a win against a team like Hurricane is a good day."

Richfield def. Wasatch 25-10, 25-18, 25-9 » The top-ranked Rebels made quick work of Wasatch to advance to Saturday's semifinal against North Sanpete.

Delta def. Grantsville 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 » After just squeaking by Juan Diego in the first round, the Rabbits cruised to a three-game quarterfinal victory over Grantsville.

Morgan def. Desert Hills 25-17, 25-14,25-12 » The Trojans jumped out to dominant 5-0 and 6-0 leads in the first two games as they cruised to the three-game victory.