Lady Bulldogs fall 3-1 to Enterprise, take 6th place in state tournament
By Ben Lasseter
Staff writer
11-5-2020
RICHFIELD—The Gunnison Valley girls’ volleyball team played better than the scores indicate, but nonetheless came up short at the 3A playoffs last Thursday.
The Bulldogs (15-10, 7-3 in conference) lost three sets to one to Enterprise (21-9, 6-2 conference) in the third round of the state 3A playoffs.
The following day, they earned sixth place in the state final rankings with a win over Altamont (10-14, 2-8 conference) three sets to zero and later taking a loss to Kanab (16-15, 4-4 conference) three sets to one.
Coach Shanell Knudsen said the team felt the results and box scores of the losses did not represent the team to be “quite as good” as they were, but that overall she is happy for the success they had this season.
Gunnison Valley started strong and won the first set 25-21, but Enterprise took the next three. It was the second meeting between Gunnison Valley and Enterprise this year after Sept. 10, when Enterprise won 3-0.
Gunnison Valley more than doubled Altamont’s score in the first set. They had to go to 28 points to take the third and final set.
The Kanab game was a long four sets. Kanab took the first two in extra points. The Bulldogs took the third 25-15, but Kanab snuffed their momentum with a 25-22 deciding set.
Knudsen said before the Enterprise match the team knew it would be a “tough game.”
The tournament marked the last games for seniors Naomi Willdon and Brynn Overly.
Going forward, the team will look to a core group of rising seniors who have already played under Knudsen. He said they are already looking forward to next season.
“They’ve been such a successful team over the years,” the coach said. “They just have a bond.”
Aside from results and numbers, Knudsen said she is simply glad the team got to play a full season. During much of the second half of the season and postseason, rising COVID-19 figures and players testing positive in the region prohibited some teams from finishing out the year.
“I guess we were one of the lucky ones,” Knudsen said.
