Same teams. Same place. Different Ending.

Once again Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak met at the end of the road with the winner taking it all — the state volleyball trophy and the satisfaction. Only this time it was the Vikings that served their way to the title, spiking the Knights' bid for a threepeat.

"The third time's the charm," said Pleasant Grove setter Allyce Wilson after the same two teams did battle in the championship match for the third year in a row. "We got gold for once, not silver. I can't describe the feeling."

The Knights were devastated by the loss, though just getting back to the trophy match was a feat no one had expected they could accomplish. They had to survive a grueling five-game match against Skyline in the first round before pulling off two huge upsets over Hunter and undefeated Davis just to make it back to the final. But to Pleasant Grove, winning it all against their biggest rivals made victory all that much sweeter.

"It stung so bad losing to them two years in a row. There's no better way for us to win this year. This team is the whole package. They really pulled through tonight," said Pleasant Grove coach Mike Daniel about his girls after they took home the first place trophy.

Outside hitter Kortney Robinson agreed: "To finally come out on top like we did and play as a team, there's no better feeling."

But perhaps an even bigger victory happened earlier in the day against Brighton in the semifinals.

The Vikings and Bengals were touted as the top two teams in the state — the volleyball titans. And their clash in the semis lived up to all the lofty expectations.

"It took so much of our energy to beat them (Brighton) that we needed time to recoup before the Lone Peak game," added Robinson.

Daniel noted about that Brighton match: "I saw 'we've lost' written on the faces of both teams at different times during the match. It was the greatest match of high school volleyball that I've ever seen."

But the rest of the valley's 5A teams didn't fare quite as well as Region 4 No. 3 Mountain View only won one match and lost two, not placing in the top eight. The Bruins met tough Alta and Skyline and lost to both, though they did put together a successful region season, finishing 6-4 and only losing to Lone Peak and Pleasant Grove.

Timpanogos was happy just to make the tournament after defeating American Fork's Big 3 in a playing match just for the right to go to UVSC. That's a good attitude to have when your first match is against the likes of the Bengals. They did lose their only two matches at the tourney, but they weren't disappointed in their season in the least. They made it as far as they possibly could have and further than most predicted they would.

But American Fork faltered mostly in the passing game and Spanish Fork lost Diane Stewart early in the season, giving the T-Wolves the sliver of hope they needed, and they pried it open and stepped through.

But though the top two teams in 5A action were both from down in Utah Valley, the 4A tournament wasn't nearly as kind to teams from the South.

Top-ranked and highly-touted Provo, an early favorite for a run at the title, nearly faltered in its first match, though they did make it through in four games against a scrappy West team. But Box Elder came out of nowhere to take down the Bulldogs in round two, and Mountain Crest finished them off in an easy sweep to shove them out of the tournament in a lower position than the Bulldogs are used to. It was a disappointing tournament after a 9-1 Region 7 season and a first place league finish.

But the surprise team from Region 7 had to be the Orem Tigers. The team that tied with Lehi for third in the league with identical 6-4 records, first won a coin toss to receive the No. 3 seed, then they proceeded to win again and again.

First, the Tigers took out Woods Cross, then they upset the Region 5 No. 1 team Sky View for a shot at the semifinals. It was further than anyone expected the Tigers to run.

"We started coming on strong in the last half of the season," said Orem coach Wayne Wood. "I was really proud of my passers late in the year."

Though his team then lost to the eventual champion Highland Rams and upstart Box Elder, they were definitely proud of the way they ended the year and their fourth-place finish at state.

The team that tied with Orem and wound up with the fourth-place seed played every match like they were fighting for their lives. In one of the best matches of the first round, the Lehi Pioneers lost to Mountain Crest in four, but they actually topped the Mustangs in total points. That first rough and tumble match sent them on the road to one victory after another and a sixth-place final finish. After taking out Bonneville and East, the Pioneers then had to take on region rival Springville for sixth.

The Pioneers played strongly all tournament without a letdown and came out victorious behind the strong arm of Christina Measom, who finished with 93 kills in four tournament matches.

"We did the big things, but we didn't do the little things we needed to do," said Lehi coach Jamie Ingersoll, who is bringing back most of the squad for another run next year. She noted how her team has always depended too much on Measom, but Marci Gray in the back row and Megan Zimmerman's arm helped them finish strong and prepare for another trip next year.

"We were playing for pride, and we know we'll be here next year," added Ingersoll.

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Though the Springville Red Devils, who finished second in league with a 7-3 record, were coming into the tournament hot, they cooled off early and lost without much of a struggle to Murray in the first round. After that loss they came together to defeat Bountiful and Granger to set up the meeting with a Lehi team that just put everything together in the end.

"I can't be prouder of my girls," said Springville coach Melia Roberts of her team that walked off with the eighth place finish.

All in all, though some teams in the valley disappointed, others, such as Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak, finished it the way they always do, in the finals against each other. Shall we book the court for next year now?


E-mail: jolsen@desnews.com

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