Even with the uncertainty of an extra classification and new regions, the 2017 volleyball season is already dominated by the usual powerhouses.
6A
It would be easy to be impressed with the talent on the Lone Peak volleyball roster. But what impressed head coach Reed Carlson most was the attitude with which his players approached the 2017 season.
“One of the most impressive things to me was how much work our entire program put in during the offseason,” he said of last year’s 5A champions. “The girls came in prepared and ready to be pushed. They have made decisions to fully commit and deliberately get better each day, and to hold themselves and everyone else in the program accountable for their actions.”
They relish "tough challenges" and focus on execution.
“It really is an incredible environment,” Carlson said, “driven by an even more incredible group of athletes.”
With four players already committed to play collegiate volleyball, it is understandable why the Knights start the season at the top of the 6A rankings. Carlson said the team doesn’t see winning the 5A title last year as any added pressure for this season.
“We don’t really approach it that way,” he said. “We try and only focus on the things we can control on our side of the net. We look forward to every match and every opportunity to compete and recognize that there are a lot of quality teams in the state and especially in our region.”
The Knights are led by BYU commit and outside hitter Madi Robinson and returning setter Jaque Langhaim, who has committed to Tennessee Chattanooga.
“(Madi) raises the temperature in our gym, and it’s fun to watch everyone else compete with her intensity,” Carlson said. “(Langhaim) brings in tons of high-level volleyball experience and just as much athleticism shown in her blocking and defense.”
Other key contributors are outside hitter Tasia Farmer, middle hitter Autumn Spafford (committed to West Point), opposite hitter Carli Bernston, libero Hikia Kaohelaulii, and middle hitter Kennedi Boyd (committed to Arizona State).
“We just want to be the best as often as we can and the score of each match will reflect how well we played against our opponent,” Carlson said. “I think the girls are more excited than nervous to play. They love the sport and show respect for it by giving it their best effort on every ball.” Carlson said the state is loaded with talent this year from last year’s 4A champion, Bountiful, to 3A defending champion Morgan and the Knights’ region rival Pleasant Grove.
“Having Bingham join our region also makes it a lot more fun for us,” he said.
The Vikings are ranked No. 2, while Weber, American Fork and Bingham round out the top five in 6A. Other teams to watch are Syracuse, Herriman, Riverton, Clearfield, Granger, Davis, and Fremont.
5A
Despite winning back-to-back state championships, Bountiful head coach Sarah Chism said this is a new team and they’re extremely cognizant of the fact that any accolades and awards belong to last year’s squad.
“Our team realized and acknowledged from the very beginning of this season that this is a new group of girls and they haven’t earned anything yet,” Chism said. “They understand that they have to work hard for everything they want to accomplish — nothing given, only earned. This is part of their core beliefs and the strength of this team is their work ethic and the fact that they are truly driven.”
She said they don’t feel pressure from last year’s accomplishments.
“They know what it takes, and they know they have a lot of work ahead of them,” she said. “But they truly enjoy the process and the grind.”
The Braves are led by returning setter Bri Mortensen, right side hitter Brook Pe’a and libero Holland Vande Merwe. Additionally, outside hitter Kaybrie Pe’a and outside hitter Baylee Mittelstaedt are expected to be critical pieces to the Braves’ success this fall.
“They are both dynamic hitters that we will rely on to be consistent for us,” Chism said. “Our captains — Bri Mortensen, Brook Pe’a, Kaybrie Pe’a and Celinie Pita — do an amazing job for us of upholding the traditions of our program. We have built a culture of high expectation, coupled with high accountability, and the captains do a great job of leading the charge.”
Their leadership begins with their own commitment.
“They hold themselves to a high standard, and set the bar high for everyone else in the program,” Chism said. “All the way down to our freshman. Everyone is part of our culture.” Chism said the creation of a new classification doesn’t impact the Braves much, as last year’s 4A is almost the same schools as this year’s 5A.
“(We’re) mostly facing the same teams,” she said. “I really like the new region alignment in 5A, especially the reformation of the Salt Lake region that is reuniting great rivalries like Skyline and Highland and East and West.” One of Bountiful’s traditional rivals is restored with the return of Viewmont to the 5A ranks. The Vikings were ranked No. 2, while Corner Canyon, Box Elder, and Skyline round out the top five.
Other 5A teams to watch are Alta, Woods Cross, West, Cottonwood, Timpview, Wasatch, Springville, and Skyridge.
4A
Sky View is the only top-ranked team in the state that didn’t win a state title last season, and in addition to a new head coach, Sky View High dropped down two classifications because Cache Valley high opened a new high school — Green Canyon.
But the only thing that matters to Bobcats head coach Sheila Sorensen is that the girls who chose to stay at Sky View are committed, hard working and talented.
“The school was essentially split in half,” Sorensen said. “But all of the seniors decided to stay at Sky View.” She has five seniors on the squad, but only one of those was a starter last season — outside hitter Dawson Day.
There are several others with varsity experience, but maybe most important, the girls have played together for so long that Sorensen was their club coach when they were in junior high.
“It's kind of fun to have my little team reunited,” she said. “That’s the nice thing, that they’ve just known each other, played well together and had a very competitive summer.”
In addition to Day, the Bobcats will rely on libero Cassandra DuBose, who has committed to Utah State, defensive specialist Coryn Bodily, and setter Mikaela Sorensen.
Morgan Penrose will lead the front row attack and Kristen Schumann will play opposite for the Bobcats.
In three matches, DuBose and Bodily have combined for 66 and 40 digs respectively.
“I am excited about this group of girls,” Sorensen said. “They believe in each other and have a lot of fun playing volleyball. …Sky View has a great tradition of winning region and playing high in state. This team is up for the challenge of playing in a new region and a new classification in 4A.”
Sky View’s region — for the first time — is almost completely made up of Cache Valley teams. The one exception is Bear River, which is in Box Elder.
“I am excited for the five teams up in the valley,” Sorenson said. “It’s going to be kind of like a rivalry game every week.”
Sorensen is also thrilled to have the St. George area teams in the classification.
“We’re very excited that the southern teams are in 4A,” she said.
Mountain View, Salem Hills, Desert Hills and Park City round out the top five. But Dixie, Snow Canyon, Spanish Fork, Lehi, Tooele, and Mountain Crest could also be in the mix.
3A
After finishing second three years ago, Morgan has won back-to-back state titles. Despite a track record of success, head coach Liz Wiscombe said nothing has changed for the Trojans.
“We still try and get a really tough preseason,” she said. “We try to go to some great tournaments, and then just compete at the end. We’re just excited to be there.”
The Trojans return seven seniors, but it will be junior setter Ellee Anderson who runs the team’s offense. The team will rely on those seniors to find success this season, starting with outside hitters Baylee Loertscher and Brooke Loertscher, who also happen to be twin sisters.
Middle Marcie Stapely and right side Kendall Sommers will be key in defense at the net, while Hannah Farr, libero Dani Wortman, and Beth Pobanz will be critical pieces in back row defense.
“They are really motivated,” Wiscombe said. “The seniors are excited, and they just want to have a fun year. They’re ready to step in and lead. …They’re a competitive bunch.”
The new alignment has the Trojans playing more rural schools, but they’ll also face private schools Judge and Juan Diego and charter school Summit Academy.
“We don’t care where they put us,” she said. “We’re excited to get in and start playing and just see where it takes us. There is always somebody who wants to beat us.”
Morgan will play in some of the state’s top tournaments, squaring off against much larger schools, just as they have in the past.
North Sanpete, Juan Diego, Juab and Richfield round out the top five. Delta, Union, Emery, South Sevier, and San Juan could also be in the mix at the end of the season.
2A
While defending 2A champion North Summit will play in a completely new region, second-ranked Enterprise will face very familiar foes.
Enterprise head coach Brian Phelps graduated six players from last year’s fourth-place team. Both the team’s two top hitters return — Jaslyn Gardner and Ronnie Robinson.
“We also return our best passers,” he said. “So we’ve got some pieces back that are important.”
The Wolves, like most smaller schools, rely on two- or three-sport athletes, so not many of them play club volleyball.
“I think one sport translates to the others,” Phelps said.
Phelps said the creation of six classifications may have diluted the depth of talent in the class, but only time will tell.
“It’s going to be interesting to see who comes out of where,” he said. “We lost quite a few good programs.”
Enterprise might be one of the state’s smallest schools, but they placed third at Skyline’s tournament two weeks ago. Phelps said his team has a chance to compete with the state’s best programs if they continue to develop.
“Our team is going to grow slow, but I think there is a lot of potential,” he said. “We only have two seniors, so we’re kind of young. The team is really quiet, but they get along really well.”
North Summit has only won three games, but none of their losses is to another 2A school. Kanab, North Sevier and St. Joseph round out the top five. Rowland Hall, Waterford, Duchesne, Millard, and Beaver could all be in the mix.
1A
If there is a school that proves volleyball is one sport where the size of the school doesn’t matter it’s Rich High School. The Rebels have been taking on 4A and 5A schools in Idaho, Wyoming and Utah for decades — and beating them.
Recently, the Rebels beat Mountain Crest in four sets, and as an indication as to the intensity of the match, consider that Rich had 130 digs.
“It was a hard-hitting match and super fun,” said head coach Cindy Stuart.
The defending 1A champions have six seniors on this year’s squad and all of them start or contribute.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “These girls have been together forever and are solid. They are just really good little players. I say little because they are all small.”
Outside hitter Julia Hopkin is 5-foot-8, but Stuart said,"She jumps out of the gym.”
They have a sophomore middle hitter who is 5-foot-11, but everyone else is 5-foot-6 or shorter. The team will be led by Hopkin and outside Savannah Peart. Kierra Groll is the team’s setter, and she returns alongside the squad’s libero Amber Smith.
Middle hitter Taleesha Larsen also swings outside, and she has an impressive serve.
In fact, the entire team serves “exceptionally well,” Stuart said. “It’s our first attack.”
The veteran coach isn’t sure about the new alignment, except they were sad to lose Duchesne from their region and class.
“We kept them on our schedule,” she said. She believes Panguitch and Monticello will be contenders again, and Milford and ICS also appear to have solid teams. Panguitch is ranked No. 2, with Monticello at No. 3. Tabiona and Piute round out the top five.