This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Often on the minds of the Mountain View volleyball team members these days are teams like Murray and Timpanogos, with whom the Bruins are jostling for position in the Region 7 standings.
But what Mountain View would really like to be is just like the team that came for a visit on Tuesday.
Skyline (20-3, 5-0) solidified its hold atop of the region by sweeping the host Bruins 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.
What impressed Bruins' coach Karly Sipherd-Smith the most about the Eagles, even when the visitors found themselves down late in the second game, is how that particular fact didn't make much of an impression.
"I don't think they, in their own minds, ever thought they were going to lose," Sipherd-Smith said. "And we have a lack of belief. We're just not very confident when we start getting down.
"They [the Eagles] are so consistent and they just keep battling the whole time," she added. "What we talked about in the locker-room just now is discipline and consistency. Skyline is an example of that."
A 6-0 run behind the kills and blocks of middle hitter Anna Flitton helped Skyline wrest control of the first game as the Eagles broke a 10-10 tie. Flitton scored on four consecutive points — twice when the 5-foot-11 senior swatted down errant passes from Mountain View (5-3, 3-3) that drifted over the net.
The host Bruins, which had won three straight matches entering the Skyline contest, jumped to a quick lead in the second game. A 6-0 run started the game and Mountain View still held a 19-15 lead late.
But two kills from Allie Rasmussen and another from Abigail Olds sparked a 4-0 run that tied the contest. Down the stretch, Abby Selcho also had a pair of big kills from the outside for Skyline.
"We have such a balanced team. We have good outsides, good middles and a really good right side," Eagles' setter Helena Wolff said. "We definitely have good potential."
Mountain View, led by the outside hitting of Janet Kalaniuvalu, had an 11-7 lead in the third game before a 7-0 Skyline run took the starch out of the Bruins' sails.
"What we've really been blessed with this year is a lot of depth," Eagles coach Jami Hutchins said. "We had three girls get hurt. One kid tore an ACL, another ran into the bleachers and ripped her forehead open, and another kid break her hand.
"Considering we've had three players go down and still be able to win, that shows the depth and character of this team," he added.