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The much-anticipated semifinal game between Carbon and Morgan did not disappoint as emotions were high on Wednesday afternoon.
Carbon was down 8-2 early in the first set, but was able to cut it back to one to make it 12-11. Morgan began to pull away again, but Carbon answered back and tied it at 17. Back-and-forth it went until Carbon went up by two, 23-21. The Lady Dinos took care of business and won the first set 25-23.
In the second set, Carbon immediately jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Two unforced errors put Morgan back in the game and the Lady Trojans tied it at five. Morgan eventually grew its lead and went up 24-19. Carbon tried to come back, but lost 25-22.
Again, the Lady Dinos grabbed a 4-0 lead and followed it up with two costly mistakes. Carbon did not fold, however, and continued to pound the ball to make it 7-2. Morgan cut it to two, 8-6, before Carbon ripped off six consecutive points. The Lady Trojans remained calm and fought their way back in the set. They were able to tie the set at 20, and it felt like whomever won the third set would win the game. Morgan held a 22-21 lead before Carbon tied it at 22. The Lady Trojans grabbed the next two points, pinning Carbon to the wall. The Lady Dinos were able to win the next point, but could not win two in a row as they fell 25-23.
The two teams traded points in the forth set with neither gaining a clear-cut advantage. Carbon grabbed a late 23-20 lead, only to squander it as Morgan ended up tying the set at 24. The two teams went point-for-point down the stretch, each time with Carbon scoring first and then Morgan answering. It took the Dinos 30 points, but they finally found some breathing room to beat Morgan 30-28.
A spot in the state championship game was on the line as the fifth set ensued. Carbon once more had all the answers early and went up 3-0. Morgan never flinched and scored seven straight points. The Dinos did not back down and countered the run with four points of their own to tie it all up at seven. Carbon seemingly ran out of gas as Morgan went on to win the set 15-9 and the match 3-2. The Dinos left it all on the court but came up short.
Emma Christensen recorded 32 kills and 19 digs. Katie Jones tallied 28 digs followed by Lyndee Mower with 21 and Makenna Blanc with 10. Blanc also added 44 assists while Janzie Jensen had a team-high six blocks.
The Lady Dinos immediately played in the 3rd/4th place match following the loss to Morgan. Carbon struggled to bring the same intensity to the contest and ended their season with a loss. Carbon lost 25-15 in the first set and attempted to improve their play, but the Lady Wildcats fended off Carbon 25-22 and 25-23 in the next two sets to sweep the Dinos and take third in state.
Again, it was Christensen that led the way with 17 kills. Jones had a team-high 28 digs while Mower finished with 22, Blanc with 17, Christensen with 14 and Reagan Smuin with 10. Blanc recorded 27 assists in the final contest.
Carbon’s season came to an end with a fourth-place finish in state, a 22-7 overall record and an 8-2 record in region.