This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When the volleyball season began it seemed unlikely that 2011 would be the year Concordia Prep would end a three-season playoff drought.
Only eight girls showed up the first day of practice and one of them would transfer shortly after the season started. Of the seven remaining players, two had never played competitive volleyball. To further complicate matters, the team had to adjust to a new coach.
Despite these challenges, the team earned a trip to the class 1A volleyball tournament at Utah Valley University.
"It meant the world to qualify for state," said senior Courtney Schrank. "To know a team with seven players could make it showed just how much heart this team has."
With barely enough players to play a match, scrimmaging in practice was out of the question, and the team's lack of experience showed as the Lynx lost seven of their first 10 matches.
"Finding ways to practice was very difficult," said coach Tom Hubbard. "We did the best we could, but the first time some of our girls played six-on-six was our first match."
Since the younger players on the team lacked experience, Jamie Pace said the seniors knew they had to be good examples.
"We knew we had to teach the younger girls how to play and how to lead on the court," Pace said.
By midseason, Concordia Prep had started to figure out what it took to win games, but Hubbard felt something still wasn't quite right.
"After losing to Maeser Prep at the Wendover tournament, we sat down as a team and talked about how things were going," said Hubbard. "We weren't getting it done and I told them this season had to be about the team and everyone needed to play hard and have fun. The team embraced that and started to be who they really are."
After the tournament in Wendover, Concordia Prep won seven of its next nine matches, including a play-in match against rival Intermountain Christian for the right to go to state.
"[Beating ICS] was the best thing ever," said senior Sarah Lincoln. "We hadn't beat them in a while until last year, so to beat them again and go to state was great."
The team's trip to the state tournament didn't last long, as Concordia Prep lost in the first round to Green River and then was eliminated from the consolation bracket by Diamond Ranch.
Regardless of the finish, the team felt like the season was successful.
"This is the greatest season I have ever had," said Schrank. "The team became very close, we learned about each other, I wouldn't change anything at all." —
Big Number • 23. Number of touchdown passes thrown this season by Olympus quarterback Scott Porter. Porter ends his high school career with 42 touchdown passes.
Big Player • Tyler Snyder, Skyline football. Filling in for an injured quarterback Zach Williams, Snyder let the Eagles on a 66 yard drive with little time remaining against East. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the drive was stopped at the one yard line as time expired.