High school boys volleyball: Pleasant Grove gets first ever 6A crown in win over Lone Peak

Heading into the 6A boys’ volleyball state tournament, the Pleasant Grove Vikings had an unfortunate reputation of their defense.

They spent their tournament proving that reputation wrong. The Vikings got win after win and ended their season with a 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15 win over Lone Peak to take the first-ever 6A state championship.

“Some anonymous coach said our defense sucked, so our coach had us work on it a ton yesterday and that’s where our defensive drive came from,” said Pleasant Grove senior Kenadi Lee. “It feels really good (to prove them wrong).”

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Lone Peak built a 2-5 lead to start the game, but Pleasant Grove quickly got its offense started and took the first set 25-22.

The Knights had a height advantage over the Vikings, and Lone Peak timed its blocks better in the second set. Pleasant Grove struggled to hit over the Lone Peak wall and the Knights built a 15-20 lead.

The Vikings went on a 5-0 run to tie it at 20-20, but Lone Peak held on to take the second set 22-25.

Pleasant Grove head coach Dave Neeley knew that his team needed to adjust to the Lone Peak block.

“We talked yesterday about teams that were good at playing defense because Syracuse and Lone Peak are good defensive teams,” Neeley said. “The strategy against teams like that is to just keep swinging, keep playing the way that we play and if you get blocked keep doing the same thing. We really came out totally on fire in set three and four.”

In the third and fourth set, Pleasant Grove looked like a different team. The Vikings made sure every Lone Peak point was earned and they were done giving away free points.

Meanwhile, the adjustments on their hits helped them build a bigger lead and Pleasant Grove jumped to a 25-18 third set win.

“From where we started at the beginning of the season, to where we are now is night and day,” said Pleasant Grove outside hitter Tyson Jarvis. Jarvis ended the championship game with a team-high 14 kills.

“We just had to keep our energy up and our heads up and keep pushing. I just gave all my effort, my whole team gave all their effort, we all put in the work and wanted it the most.”

Pleasant Grove’s Kenadi Lee and Weston Johanson also got going in the third and fourth set and both ended with 10 kills.

“It really is just our setter, if we tell him we want it more outside he’ll put it there,” Lee said. “He’s the key, we have good passes but it’s all him.”

In the fourth set the Vikings defense was locked in. Pleasant Grove’s Aki Malietoa had a big impact on the net with two blocks in the final set, while his teammates kept every ball possible alive.

“A couple nights ago I asked the guys what they were excited about for this weekend, and they said they’re excited to play the best defense of the season because we’ve struggled in that area this year,” Neeley said. “This morning and tonight we played really good defense, and that’s just mindset, attitude and desire to get digs.”

Pleasant Grove’s defense applied pressure on Lone Peak and the Vikings took advantage with a convincing 25-15 fourth set win.

On March 4, Pleasant Grove played the first ever UHSAA sanctioned match and got a 3-0 win over Mountain View and on Saturday, it bookended its season with the first ever 6A crown.

“It was just a special season in so many ways from match number one through tonight,” said Neeley. “To see the improvement that these guys have made is really special. To see the amount of talent in this state has been special and this sport in this state has a really bright future.”