PLEASANT GROVE — It was the clash of the titans in 4A volleyball as No. 1 Pleasant Grove came out fired-up from the beginning and took out No. 2 Lone Peak 25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15.
This match wasn't just the first Region 7 matchup of the year or even just the battle between the top two teams in 4A. It was a grudge rematch of last year's state championship game and possibly a preview of this year's.
The two teams won on each other's home courts last season, and the Knights grabbed the rubber match in the biggest event of the year, but the Vikings thought about that match all summer, and weren't about to let Lone Peak come into their territory and beat them again.
The Vikings had already taken out 5A No. 1 Viewmont and 3A No. 1 Morgan, and they decided it was time to dismantle their biggest competition in the 4A ranks. Revenge was the name of the game, and after an 11-11 tie, Pleasant Grove took charge, running off eight straight points to take complete control of Game 1. Breanne Winger finished it off with the kill, and the Vikings were on their way to victory.
"I'd say 70-80 percent of our passes were perfect and let us run our offense the way we wanted to," said Pleasant Grove coach Mike Daniel.
"Whitney Mendivil was our big hitter tonight with 7-11 kills."
The second game brought out more of the battle that was expected between the two powers. It saw nine ties, the last at 15 all before Pleasant Grove finally took control. The first time the Viking tried to run away with the game, Lone Peak came back to take a short-lived lead, but the Knights couldn't come back after Kortney Robinson smacked down seven of her 16 total kills and Hailey Jeppson pounded down the last two points for the 25-19 victory. She finished with 12 kills and four aces in the match.
  | |
"The players on these two teams respect each other," said Daniel. "Lone Peak is a gifted team with great girls and a huge block."
Game 3 came complete with all the elements expected of the epic battle.
Lone Peak decided it had enough of Pleasant Grove's revenge and took the early 9-4 lead. The Vikings spent most of the rest of the game fighting back and finally managed to tie it up at 22. Both teams energy levels rose as did that of the crowd. The atmosphere was electric and loud when two Pleasant Grove players finally collided on match point and the ball dropped for the Lone Peak victory.
Early in Game 3, the intensity picked up as a Lone Peak player got a yellow card, and players and fans both started questioning the referees loudly. Pleasant Grove went on to win the game without too much fight from the Knights, but the night didn't end with the final Jeppson kill.
The raucous crowd's fiery tempers spilled over into the parking lot as students continued yelling at referees and a fight broke out between two young men. "I can't believe the seriousness of the game in high school athletics that there has to be a fight afterwards," said Daniel. The two teams shook hands after the event and were once again good friends with their on court rivals. But the fans couldn't let it die after the game was over in yet another example of unacceptable crowd behavior at a youth event.
In other matches Tuesday:
REGION 1
DAVIS DEF. CLEARFIELD 25-17, 25-18, 25-11:Mikenzy Flint had 31 assists and three aces to lead Davis. Kayla Walker added 18 kills and 12 digs for the Darts.
WEBER DEF. FREMONT 25-20, 25-18, 25-14:Jenalyn Oman led the Warriors with 12 kills, while Cami Douglas added 6 kills and Sage Ebert had 10 blocks. Setters Kelsey Green and Christa Hubbard combined for 27 assists.
VIEWMONT DEF. LAYTON 25-16, 25-13, 25-20:Airial Salvo led the Vikings to a region win with 16 kills, while Micah Lines added 13 kills.
REGION 2
BRIGHTON DEF. COPPER HILLS 25-10, 25-18, 25-14:Sage Aune had eight kills, two blocks, and four aces to pace Brighton.
ALTA DEF. HILLCREST 20-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-13: The Huskies ran out of gas against the fifth-ranked Hawks Tuesday. Hillcrest setter Sivolene Ika played a great game in the region two loss.
WEST JORDAN DEF. JORDAN 25-20, 25-19, 27-25: West Jordan eeked out a win in the third and final game, narrowly escaping Jordan with a 27-25 win.
BINGHAM DEF. RIVERTON 25-14, 25-17, 25-20:Kris Hymas ended up with 19 kills and five blocks and Buffy Godfrey added 13 more kills for the Miners in their three-game sweep. Stephanie Zollinger assisted on 33 points and Michelle Campbell had three kills and two blocks.
REGION 5
BOUNTIFUL DEF. WEST 25-20, 14-25, 25-13, 25-19: Braves' Kate Nelson complied 14 kills and 15 digs and Andrea Johnson added 11 kills and 14 digs.
HIGHLAND DEF. EAST 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23: Highland's Kaylynn Daniels led her team with 18 kills.
MURRAY DEF. OLYMPUS 25-10, 25-12, 25-19: 4A MVP Candidate Lori Baird had 13 kills and 16 digs for Murray. Blakely Peppinger and Kristen Lemmert both served well for the Spartans.
WOODS CROSS DEF. CYPRUS 25-15, 25-12, 25-18: Wildcats' Kathryn Lovell and Niesha Wilkinson led their squad. Lovell finished with 21 kills while Wilkinson added 19 assists and seven digs.
REGION 8
CARBON DEF. DELTA 25-17, 25-12, 29-27: Carbon earned its first Region 8 win with a three-game straight win.
EMERY DEF. LEHI 25-14, 25-15, 20-25, 21-25, 15-8: The Spartans held-on for a close win over the Pioneers.
REGION 9
HURRICANE DEF. PINE VIEW 25-23, 26-24, 27-25: Hurricane defeated the Panthers in straight games. Kalisa Richardson had seven kills for Pine View.
REGION 10
WASATCH DEF. GRANITE 25-16, 25-9, 25-13: Wasatch allowed only nine points to Granite in the second game en route to a decisive win.
UINTAH DEF. PARK CITY 25-12, 16-25, 16-25, 25-21, 15-8: Uintah's Maggie Bartel and Lexi White combined for 23 kills.
JUDGE MEMORIAL DEF. UNION 25-22, 26-24, 25-17: Judge Memorial earned its first region win with a three-game decision.
REGION 11
OGDEN DEF. BEAR RIVER 24-26, 20-25, 25-22, 28-26, 15-13: Trailing 2-1, Odgen rebounded to win the match in five games. Bear River's Katie Christiansen had 42 assists.
MORGAN DEF. BEN LOMOND 25-7, 25-4, 25-11: Eli Rees had 15 service points and 15 kills, while BreAnne Haslam had eight kills for the Trojans.
GRANTSVILLE DEF. TOOELE 25-23, 20-25, 25-19, 25-12:Sherife Herrera led Grantsville with five kills.
REGION 12
SOUTH SEVIER DEF. MANTI 25-14, 25-14, 26-24: Rams' Kascee Jacobs and Layken Brown controlled the net with a combined 18 kills.
RICHFIELD DEF. GUNNISON 25-18, 25-10, 25-9: Richfield played solidly as a team to defeat the Bulldogs in straight games.
REGION 13
BEAVER DEF. ENTERPRISE 25-22, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18: Enterprise's Emilee Truman had 15 assists and four digs.
REGION 14
NORTH SUMMIT DEF. SOUTH SUMMIT 25-22, 25-18, 26-24:Brenna Judd's 19 kills contributed to North Summit's quick decision.
JUAB DEF. ROWLAND HALL 28-26, 25-21, 25-21:Sally Smalley had an outstanding service game for the Wasps.
REGION 16 S.
ALTAMONT DEF. DUCHESNE 23-25, 25-8, 25-23, 25-21:Lindsay Mullins had seven blocks and five aces for Altamont.
REGION 17
WATERFORD DEF. SALT LAKE LUTHERAN 25-10, 25-22, 25-15: Junior blocker Meridith Phipps held the net for Waterford, notching nine kills and three blocks.
LAYTON CHRISTIAN DEF. INTERMOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN 23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 26-24:Philicia Friedman and Ashley Moore both had 100 percent serving for Layton Christian in the win. Friedman also had four aces and nine kills.
ST. JOSEPH DEF. MOUNT VERNON 25-14, 25-14, 25-18:Bailie Hamblin had seven aces and four assists as St. Joseph beat the Patriots. Mount Vernon outside hitter Katherine Jensen had a solid game in defeat.
REGION 18
TINTIC DEF. WASATCH ACADEMY 25-10, 25-17, 25-12: Tintic's agressive play led to a straight-game win.
NONREGION
SKYLINE DEF. ROY 25-13, 21-25, 25-20, 25-9: Ashley England had 13 kills and Courtney Latteier added 10 kills, six digs and three aces for Skyline.