Pleasant Grove stayed together and fought to overcome a 2-1 set deficit which was rewarded with a five-set road win over the Skyridge Falcons.
Despite the loss Skyridge immediately came out the gate swinging and stayed a step ahead of Pleasant Grove throughout the first set. The Skyridge hitters were putting a lot of pressure on the Viking defense which won them the first set 25-19.
However, set two was much more balanced with the score staying between one to two points.
Pleasant Grove eventually worked it up to a 24-22 set point, but once again Skyridge pushed it all the way to 26-26. A kill from the Vikings’ Katie Barnes put them up 27-26 which Pleasant Grove capitalized on and took the second set 28-26.
“I really liked how our team came together and stayed super positive and happy. We were just laughing the whole time which really helped us have good energy and we went out there and won,” said Barnes.
Coming into the third set you’d think Pleasant Grove had all the momentum after winning such a tight set, but Skyridge stayed focused and pummeled the Vikings to a 20-11 lead.
Pleasant Grove recouped a little and gained some ground, but it wasn’t enough, and the Vikings ended up losing set three 25-18.
By now it seemed Skyridge had the Vikings on the ropes. But thanks to some great passing from the back and blocking from the front Pleasant Grove dominated set four 25-12.
Vikings Taytum Nelson had a plethora of clutch blocks for Pleasant Grove which certainly hyped up her teammates which stole the momentum away from the Falcons.
“We made some adjustments and some younger girls stepped up. The girls loved each other enough to battle for one another. I also thought we passed well, hats off to my little passers who don’t get showcased very much,” said Pleasant Grove coach Isa Takahashi.
The great team defense continued through the fifth set and Pleasant Grove worked its way up to a 13-6 lead.
Skyridge finally got a sideout and gained some ground up to a 13-9 deficit.
After losing a seven-point lead to four, Takahashi took a timeout to give his girls some time to breathe.
Out of the timeout Pleasant Grove immediately scored twice in a row, setter Rita Jennings placed a great ball in the back corner of the court on match point winning the fifth set 15-9 and the game for the Vikings.
After tonight’s win Pleasant Grove acquired the second spot in Region 4 rankings, only behind Lone Peak who have yet to be defeated in region play.
Pleasant Grove hosts the Knights next Tuesday, October 18.