Springville sweeps its way back to state volleyball

MONTICELLO — So much for early jitters.

Instead, third-ranked Springville put on a first-set clinic and hammered Easton Valley, 25-7, 25-19, 25-20 in a Class 1A volleyball regional final Tuesday night at Monticello High School.

'As far as execution and sticking with the game plan, that's about as well as we have played,' Springville Coach Claude Howard said. 'We made all our serves, we put the ball up, and we smashed the ball like we're supposed to.'

Springville (28-7) won its 13th consecutive match and returns to the state tournament for the second straight year, and the third time in the last four years.

The Orioles will face No. 9 Audubon (27-6) in a first-round match at 8 p.m. next Wednesday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

It's a similar team from last season, but a year older and a year better.

'The difference is the kids that were kind of on the bubble last year,' Howard said. 'Rylee Menster has figured volleyball out. Mikayla Nachazel is playing better. Sami Johnson, too.'

'We play best when we play aggressive,' setter Madi Wagaman said. 'We were really, really motivated. We wanted to get back to state, and we want to do better than we did last year.'

• State volleyball brackets, schedule

Every cylinder was clicking smoothly in the opening game. The Orioles constructed runs of six, five, seven and four on the way to a 22-3 lead.

'That was awesome,' Nachazel said. 'Everyone came out with a lot of energy. We were really pumped.'

Easton Valley (19-11) settled down and led through most of Game 2. It was 17-12 before the Orioles got going again behind Nachazel, who collected five kills and a block in a set-ending 13-2 rush.

'It's good we got pushed a little there,' Howard said. 'It just showed what can happen when you make errors.'

Springville had one more hiccup, when its nine-point advantage was carved to 18-16 in the final set, but a four-point run got the Orioles out of danger.

Nachazel finished with 12 kills, leading the Orioles to a 38-19 advantage in that category. Alyssa Jaeger added eight kills. Wagaman delivered 20 assists to go with seven kills of her own.

• 2A: No. 12 Mediapolis eliminates No. 8 North Cedar

'That might be the biggest difference from last year,' Howard said. 'Instead of two big hitters, now we have five.'

Kiley Petersen led Easton Valley with eight kills.

Basketball practice starts next week, and Springville is the defending state champion in that sport.

But basketball can wait.

'We've got the mindset that we can win it all,' Nachazel said.

SPRINGVILLE 3, EASTON VALLEY 0 (25-7, 25-19, 25-20)

Class 1A Regional Final, at Monticello

Serving — Springville 68-74 (.919), Easton Valley 38-47 (.809)

Aces — Springville 7 (Megan Allsup, Olivia Dlouhy 2), Easton Valley 5 (Kylie Budde 2)

Kills — Springville 38 (Mikayla Nachazel 12), Easton Valley (Kiley Petersen 8)

Assists — Springville 31 (Madi Wagaman 20), Easton Valley 15 (Hannah Bormann 6)

Blocks — Springville 5 (Nachazel, Rylee Menster 2), Easton Valley 3 (three with 1)

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com