The Uintah Utes volleyball team traveled to Utah Valley University in Orem last weekend where they played in the state volleyball championships, winning against West Lake for the first Uintah 4A volleyball championship win, but ultimately failing to place in the tournament.

The team earned a place at the state championships after beating Maple Mountain and Salem Hills in the previous Monday’s playoffs, allowing them to go up against the best Utah 4A teams.

The Utes took on Skyview High School at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, winning one game of four. They then took on Westlake at 5:00 p.m., beating the Westlake team in all three games.

Finally the Utes were counted out after losing in three games to a strong Springville opponent the following morning.

Snow Canyon High School took top honors in the tournament, taking home the coveted first place trophy.

“It was a fun year to watch them play” said Pennie Johnson, mother of senior player Whitney Johnson. “They all matured, and they finally started to click as a team toward the end.”

“I think they did really well for their first year being in 4A,” said head coach Brent Labrum. “The girls can always say they were the first team from Uintah to win a 4A game in the state tournament.”

“They put forward a good team effort. We beat Skyview in one game 35-8. That’s probably the best we’ve played together in the whole year. They really jelled together.”

Labrum also expressed appreciation for the community support throughout the season.

“We just appreciated everybody. We usually had a pretty good crowd at the games, and good crowds of parents at the away games. And the student body really came out and supported the girls,” he said.

“It was a good bonus to be able to go to state and to get a win.”

gparker@vernal.com