OREM — The Pleasant Grove Vikings volleyball team had to move to 5A to beat the team that denied them the state volleyball title in 4A two years in a row.
"Wow," said Viking coach Mike Daniel after the team's 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 state-championship win over Lone Peak. "It's just a little surreal right now. I'm so proud of the girls. They worked so hard for this. . . . Their hard work paid off."
Finally. That was the word most Pleasant Grove players sighed, screamed or said with a smile.
"This was it," said senior outside hitter Kortney Robinson, who won a state title in 5A doubles tennis a month ago. "This was our time. We knew we were going to take it. We weren't going to take second or any other place other than first."
Robinson said the difference between this season and last was that instead of dwelling on what the Knights denied them, they focused on how much they wanted to win a title for themselves.
"This whole year we haven't really thought a lot about last year. At least, we don't talk about it all the time," said the senior who finished with six kills and two aces and is a member of the Deseret Morning News All-Tournament team. "Last year that was our motivation - the loss from the year before. This year, we just wanted to win because we're all seniors. We didn't want to win just because we lost last year."
Most Vikings were happy to clinch the title with a win over the Knights, a team that's broken their hearts the last two years in the 4A title game. The two teams met five times this season, and Pleasant Grove won every meeting.
"It was nice playing Lone Peak," said Daniel. "It's sad to see somebody lose a match like that. They're a good team."
Daniel said the semifinal win over Brighton Saturday morning was actually tougher for the Vikings.
"Brighton was our best match of the tournament, not to take anything away from Lone Peak," he said. "Brighton is a good team."
One of the reasons the Vikings have been so tough all season is that they get contributions from every player who steps on the floor. Setter Allyce Wilson, Robinson's tennis partner, finished with 29 assists, and Hailey Jeppson led the team's offense with 12 kills and two aces. Jeppson is the tournament MVP and smashed the last two kills of the match.
"That was like the best feeling in the world," said the future BYU Cougar. "We wanted it to be Lone Peak the whole time. We worked so hard, and this is just awesome."
Out of seven seniors, six of the Vikings are going on to play college ball, although two haven't decided between several offers. Tela Burnett, who's going to Salt Lake Community College, added six kills and three aces, and junior Kailee May earned nine kills.
The Knights surprised many with their performance in the tournament beating perennial power Skyline in the first round, region 3 champion Hunter Friday night and then undefeated third-ranked Davis in the semifinals.
"I'm just really proud of my girls," said a teary-eyed Deanna Meyer. "I think they played a great match . . . They played with honor, and that's all I ask of them."
The team was led by Christie Carpenter, a junior outside hitter, who finished with eight kills and is a member of the All-Tournament team. Jackie Fotu, who moved to three different positions to try and help the Knights earn one more win this season, finished with five kills. Setter Ashley Hamilton, who's heading to the University of Arizona next season, earned three kills and 19 assists in the loss.
"We had a lot of obstacles, and they have nothing to be ashamed of," Meyer said.
As for Pleasant Grove, they felt the ending was just what they'd imagined all season - a win that comes when they do something right.
"It was us," Robinson said, "not their mistake. It ended with us: a perfect pass, perfect set and perfect put-away. It was us."
In other 5A tournament games Saturday:
PLEASANT GROVE DEF. BRIGHTON 22-25, 25-17, 26-28, 26-24, 15-11: The Vikings used their serve and scrappy defense to take out the Bengals in an exciting five-game match. The Vikings' university-bound seniors have led the team all year, but much of the credit for the victory over Brighton belonged to younger players who stepped up at key moments. Kailee May, Hailey Barner and Erin Parry put it together to help Pleasant Grove beat tough-hitting Brighton.
NORTHRIDGE DEF. VIEWMONT 28-26, 21-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-10: The Knights advanced to meet Alta for fifth place by eliminating the Vikings in five wild games.
ALTA DEF. HUNTER 25-17, 25-20, 15-25, 26-24: The Hawks earned a chance to take on Northridge in a battle for fifth by taking out the first-place team from Region 3 in four games. The Wolverines couldn't quite put it together against Region 2's second-place squad.
LONE PEAK DEF. DAVIS 25-16, 25-23, 25-21: The Knights put it all together and disrupted the powerful Davis offense in the easy three-game sweep, which set up the third straight state championship match between Region 4 rivals Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak. The Knights played without middle blocker Olivia Fowler, who broke her leg in the first match Friday.
BINGHAM DEF. RIVERTON 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 12-25, 15-11: Region rivals Bingham and Riverton clashed once again with the Miners coming out victorious in five thrilling games. Riverton finished ahead of Bingham in the regular season, but the Miners won the right to take on Skyline for sixth place.
SKYLINE DEF. MOUNTAIN VIEW 25-15, 25-16, 25-22: The Eagles swept the Bruins to reach the sixth-place match against Bingham.
SKYLINE DEF. BINGHAM 25-16, 25-10, 25-11: The Eagles earned a sixth-place finish with a sweep of the Miners. With the loss, Bingham finished in eighth place.
ALTA DEF. NORTHRIDGE 18-25, 26-24, 23-25, 26-24, 15-11: The Hawks earned fifth place with a thrilling win over the Knights. With the loss, Northridge finished in seventh place.
BRIGHTON DEF. DAVIS 25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 25-19: The top-ranked Bengals defeated the third-ranked Darts in consolation play to earn third place in the tournament. The loss put Davis in fourth place.
5A all-tournament team
MVP: Hailey Jeppson, Pleasant Grove, Sr., OH
Allyce Wilson, Pleasant Grove, Sr., S
Kortney Robinson, Pleasant Grove, Sr., OH
Christie Carpenter, Lone Peak, Jr., OH
Ashley Hamilton, Lone Peak, Sr., S
Krista Kelley, Brighton, Jr., OH
Kayla Walker, Davis, Sr., OH/MB
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com