For a team and a school that didn’t exist a year ago, the Stansbury volleyball team has had a successful season by nearly all standards.

Only a handful of girls spent time on the same team last year and that was for a different school. Their ability to come together and be cohesive as a team is the main ingredient that has allowed the Stallions to go 6-6 in Region 6 play and earn a playoff spot in their first year.

“I think coming together as a team is something that we have worked on as a team since the beginning,” said Stansbury volleyball coach Leeah Dahle. “We have had the standard of being successful from day one and didn’t want to settle for anything less.”

No one outside the Stansbury volleyball program would have blamed the team for using this year as a building year for years to come but that was something that the Stallions were not going to settle for.

Coming out of Region 6 as the fourth seed, Stansbury will have to play Mountain View in the first round of 4A state playoffs Friday at Utah Valley University in Orem. Mountain View was the regular season champ out of Region 7.

“I think we have a good draw and I expect us to do well,” Dahle said. “Our goal right now is to take this tournament one game at a time so we are focused on Mountain View right now.”

With the talent laden Region 6 teams like Highland, Olympus and Bountiful, the Stallions have faced some of the toughest teams in the state already and won’t be surprised by any teams during the tournament.

Coach Dahle mentioned that her team is having a lot of fun this week preparing for the tournament. “They know what they need to do and they are working hard towards that,” Dahle said.

Stansbury has been led up front all season by the strong hitting percentage of Cassidy Christiansen from the outside, Hannah Allred is also a threat from the outside during matches. With the athletic ability of Marissa Robbins in the middle, it would be hard to find a more fearsome front line in the state.

“All the girls have worked really hard for this and they deserve a trip to the state tournament,” Dahle said. “We look forward to state and also look forward to volleyball at Stansbury for years to come.”

Stansbury will open state Friday against Mountain View at 10:30 a.m. at UVU in the McKay Center.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com