In a season full of hard work, Tooele County volleyball teams had plenty to be proud of. For Stansbury High School, this year’s Stallions reached heights they had never reached before.
The accolades for Stansbury included a Region 10 title — the program’s first since 2010. On Wednesday at the UCCU Center in Orem, the season concluded with a fifth-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament, the Stallions’ best finish in their 11 seasons, and their 23-8 overall record set school records for single-season wins and winning percentage.
Tooele High School missed qualifying for state last year, but after putting in extra effort in the offseason, they entered state tournament play with a 13-17 record as the No. 13 seed. “We have had to overcome quite a bit,” coach Kristi Brown said. “We didn’t qualify for state last year … and just coming from that point and having these girls get back in the gym in the offseason and work their tails off all the way to where we ended the season — we had a slow start. We had to regain confidence and regain teamwork and team chemistry. All of those things take time. We hit the midpoint and just kept climbing.”
Grantsville also overcame a tough start to its season to come within a match of placing in the top eight at state. The finish gave Grantsville coach Kelbey Fisher plenty to be proud of. “Every game, we were always in it, no matter who we played,” Fisher said. “Even when they got down, they never just gave up. They always fought, even if it ended up that we were down by a lot and had to come back. They still didn’t give up and roll over.”