Carbon volleyball traveled to Richfield on Tuesday for their second region match of the season. After a hard-fought, four-set battle, Richfield came out on top securing a region win 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24).
In the first set, the Dinos and Wildcats traded points before Carbon took control of the game after a 10-3 run to take the momentum and a 20-11 lead. The Wildcats were unable to match the Dino’s offense in the first game, dropping the set 18-25.
It was much of the same in the second set, with Carbon and Richfield exchanging points. It was 18-19 before the Wildcats took over and ran off five unanswered points to take the second set and tie the match.
Richfield took control of the third set early, gaining a five-point lead on the Dinos. Carbon fought back and tied the set at 18-18 with big contributions from senior middle blockers Aubree Robinett and Celeste Smith, leading the Dinos offense in kills. Carbon, unable to earn a side-out, ultimately couldn’t avoid falling down 2-1 as Richfield took the third set 25-18.
A back-and-forth fourth set went the way of the Wildcats 26-24. However, Carbon still had a chance to force a fifth set. With a fourth-set win in sight after gaining a 23-18 point lead, Richfield quickly dashed the hopes of Carbon with an eight point run to cap off the fourth set victory and take the match.
Seniors Beth Child and Taylor Oliver played exceptionally well in the match, tallying 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Child also contributed 15 digs on the night following senior libero Katee Martinez who tallied 30. Lauren Rice paced the Dino offense with 36 assists and chipped in defensively with six digs.
Carbon will search for its first region victory of the season as it hosts Juab on Tuesday and North Sanpete on Thursday, Oct. 2.