High school volleyball: Lone Peak wins fourth straight 6A state title

Lone Peak has dominated Utah high school volleyball since 2016, and the Knights only added to their dynasty Saturday night with their seventh state title in the last eight seasons and their fourth 6A title in a row.

It’s been a season-long battle at the top of 6A with Skyridge and Lone Peak fighting for the top spot. Skyridge only had one loss on the season before Saturday’s championship match, which was to Lone Peak, but the Knights took care of business, winning 3-1.

Skyridge was the aggressor to start and got out to a quick 1-0 lead after an 18-25 set one win.

“We talked all season about being aggressive and being assertive and I felt like we were a little tentative in the first set and when it got close, they started pressing,” said Lone Peak head coach Paula Jardine.

“So, we talked about it after the first set, and we just talked about being aggressive and showing up and that’s when it changed for us. I think they came out that second set, and even if it was tight, they were willing to persevere and be the assertive team.”

Lone Peak freshman Ava Burgess came alive in the second set, notching five kills and a block for a narrow 25-23 win to even things up at 1-1.

From there Lone Peak rolled. The Knights’ Cami Christiansen led in scoring with 14 kills, six of which came in the 25-16 third set win.

“I think we started with a lot of nerves on the court, but we’ve been in this position, and it’s helped us a lot,” said Christiansen.

“We’ve already done this before, so we’ve been prepared. We’ve been doing a lot of mental work. We worked hard and came together. We were kind of floating off kind of playing for ourselves, but then we really came together and started playing for each other and trusting each other.”

Skyridge couldn’t stop Lone Peak in the fourth and final set, and the Knights cruised to the 3-1 victory.

“I have great players, great girls, and they show up and they do what I ask them to do,” said Jardine. “We have such great leadership. We have some girls that contribute in different ways just with leadership and mentoring younger players and making them confident on the court.”

Lone Peak ended the championship match with four players with 10 or more kills, including senior and Kansas commit Zoey Burgess, who had 10.

Burgess has been on the Lone Peak varsity squad since her freshman year, which makes her one of the few who have won a state title every season.

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“I was the only freshman who played and sat varsity, so out of this whole team I am the only one who has gotten the four rings and I didn’t do it for myself,” she said.

“I especially did it for my team because I’m playing with my younger sister (Ava Burgess) who’s a freshman. All she wanted this whole season was to win with me, and I just wanted to make that possible for her because she’s truly one of my best friends.”

Zoey Burgess has left her mark on the Lone Peak program, which she said has been on her mind since her freshman year.

“From the start, my freshman year, my former coach, Reed Carlson, had asked me as a freshman and said, ‘What are you going to do to make an impact on Lone Peak? What legacy will you leave behind?’” Burgess said.

“As a freshman that really stuck with me because I thought to myself, ‘I can do something special at Lone Peak and I’m going to show people who Zoe Burgess is.’ I definitely think that I have left a legacy at Lone Peak and I’m so grateful for everybody that has helped me on this journey.”

Lone Peak joins elite company with this being only the eighth time in UHSAA history that a program has won four or more consecutive volleyball championships.

“I think it’s more about the legacy than the greatness,” Jardine said. “I think for them they felt like they take that on their shoulders.

“They talk about that legacy all the time, how they feel like they’re not starting it, but they have to pass it on. So, as seniors, they felt the weight of that, and I think they really showed up.”