5A quarterfinals
Alta 3, Viewmont 0
The day started a little iffy for No. 4 Alta as it narrowly beat No. 13 Spanish Fork in a close 3-2 win, but the Hawks brushed the dust off and found their execution in their quarterfinal against No. 5 Viewmont as they beat the Vikings 26-24, 25-19 and 25-21.
“I think every time that we come here, we know the first one is always the hardest to win,” said Alta head coach Casie Maekawa. “We hadn’t played Viewmont before, it’s the second game of the day and the really tried to focus on the execution pieces, the things that are in our control, serving tough, passing well, making sure that we’re putting first balls down, those kinds of things.”
Corbin Batista led Alta with 15 kills in the quarterfinal. Jayden Roberts had nine while Kaleb Puikkonen and Noah Hannan each added seven. Batista also led the Hawks in digs with 11.
It’s a big improvement for Alta as it was eliminated in the second round of last year’s inaugural state tournament. Making it to Day 2 has been a goal from the beginning for this Hawks team.
“It’s really exciting,” Maekawa said. “It’s a goal that we’ve had on our on our board for a long time and we’re excited to play Maple Mountain. We know they’re a great team, we know they’re going to do great things and we have to have good answers for those.”
Maple Mountain 3, Salem Hills 0
No. 1 Maple Mountain looked like the top seed throughout Day 1 of the state tournament as it dominated its competition. No. 9 Salem Hills couldn’t keep up in its semifinal with the Golden Eagles and Maple Mountain rolled to a 25-16, 29-27, 25-16 win.
The Golden Eagles dominated in nearly every set Friday, but it faltered a bit in the second set against Salem Hills. Luckily for Maple Mountain, it has 2024 Mr. Volleyball on its roster with Trey Thornton, who led the Golden Eagles with 23 kills.
“He helps calm the group, especially with top player in the nation,” said Maple Mountain head coach Napoleon Galang. “It’s nice to have a player to go to when we need a side out or to get a pass or to get a dig because he can do all of that. He’s our leader and we’re riding him to another championship.”
Maple Mountain also got support with Matt Borges’ seven kills and Kimbal Olsen’s six.
Bountiful 3, Springville 0
No. 2 Bountiful experienced little resistance Friday as it went 6-0. The Redhawks dominated their quarterfinal against No. 10 Springville 25-14, 25-19 and 25-16.
“We’re finding our flow and doing good things,” said Bountiful head coach Sarah Chism. “Everybody’s doing their part. We got a lot of guys playing roles and doing things for the team. Our serving and passing game has been really strong. We’ve been in system a lot, so that’s helped the hitters be comfortable and be open and available.”
Connor Burleson led the Bountiful offense with 11 kills and three aces. Aidan Sanford supported with 10 kills while Matt Pulsipher tallied five.
Bountiful made it to last year’s 5A championship game which it lost 3-0 to Maple Mountain. The Redhawks want to avenge last year’s loss but know to do so one game at a time.
“We do have motivation from feeling the pain of last year,” Chism said. “We’ve been chasing that all season and using that as a fire in our practices. But we’re strictly focused on the semifinal match at 11:45. So whatever’s after that, we’ll handle after that.”
Wasatch 3, Box Elder 2
It wasn’t an easy day for No. 3 Wasatch, but it still qualified for the 5A semifinals with a 27-25, 24-26, 24-26, 25-16, 15-12 win over No. 6 Box Elder.
It took Wasatch five sets in the second round to beat Olympus, and it got only 10 minutes of rest before its quarterfinal match.
“I was hoping to find a way to rest some of our guys in some way, and we did pull some guys but that was more out of necessity with cramps and those kinds of things,” said Wasatch head coach Mike Wilton.
“What really stood out to me is we asked a lot of our guys in a situation where we were hoping to be able to sit them a little bit more than we could, but Box Elder didn’t give us a break at all.”
Middles Carter Smith and Alec Slater stood out for the Wasps in the win. Wilton said they don’t see a ton of time, but they stepped up when he needed them.
With the win Wasatch moves to the 5A semifinal where it will face No. 2 Bountiful. The Wasps hope their resilience from day one stays through day two.
“Something that we try to emphasize with the boys is that there’s going to be times where it’s super tough, especially in the state tournament, and we’ve got to find a way to just be present for this single point,” Wilton said.
5A second round
Salem Hills 3, Brighton 1
No. 9 Salem Hills secured a 3-1 victory over No. 8 Brighton on the backs of standout performances from Eli Baldwin and Kooper Stewart.
Baldwin delivered four aces as the Skyhawks capitalized on strong offensive execution. Salem Hills took the opening set 25-20 and continued to apply pressure, narrowly edging Brighton 30-28 in the second set.
After conceding the third set 28-26, the SkyHawks sealed the win with a decisive 25-22 finish in the fourth set, advancing in the playoffs.
Maple Mountain 3, Taylorsville 0
No. 1 Maple Mountain dominated No. 17 Taylorsville with a straight-set sweep in a decisive 5A playoffs victory, winning 25-10, 25-20, 25-7. Trey Thornton led the Golden Eagles with eight kills, while Matt Borges, Manase Storey, and Kimball Olsen contributed five kills each. McKay Beattie bolstered the defense with 12 digs. The Golden Eagles surrendered only 37 points in the game.
Viewmont 3, Clearfield 0
No. 5 Viewmont’s Carson Tovey delivered an impressive performance with 10 kills, three blocks, and six digs, leading the Vikings to a straight-set victory over No. 12 Clearfield in the first round of the 5A playoffs. Viewmont secured the win with scores of 25-17, 27-25, and 25-19. Jack Veigel contributed defensively with eight digs, and Thomas MacKay added six kills and two blocks to the Vikings’ overall effort.
Alta 3, Spanish Fork 2
Corbin Batista’s standout performance with 28 kills propelled the No. 4 Alta Hawks to a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 13 Spanish Fork Dons in the 5A Playoffs. Alta clinched the match in a decisive fifth set, edging out Spanish Fork 15-11. Jayden Roberts also contributed significantly with 16 kills, and both Batista and Ben Latimer showcased defensive skills with seven digs each.
Box Elder 3, West Jordan 0
No. 6 Box Elder advanced in the 5A Playoffs with a commanding 3-0 victory over No. 11 West Jordan, behind a standout performance from Carter Buchanan, who logged 12 kills. The Bees had control of the match, winning the sets 25-19, 25-14, and 25-22. Dallin Mckee contributed with eight kills, while Tyce Johnston anchored the defense with 17 digs.
Wasatch 3, Olympus 2
No. 3 Wasatch rallied to overcome No. 14 Olympus in a five-set thriller during the 5A Playoffs, winning 3-2. Foraker Fisher, stepping in as libero, anchored the Wasps’ defense to help the comeback after they dropped the first set 25-13. JJ Serre’s strong play was crucial as Wasatch took the second and third sets 25-15 and 27-25. After Olympus claimed the fourth set 25-18 to force a decider, Wasatch clinched the match by winning the fifth set 15-10.
Bountiful 3, Woods Cross 0
No. 2 Bountiful Redhawks dominated No. 15 Woods Cross Wildcats in a decisive 3-0 victory. Connor Burleson helped with nine kills and two aces, while Aidan Sanford matched with nine kills to power Bountiful’s offense. The Redhawks dispatched the Wildcats with set scores of 25-11, 25-17, and 25-12.
Springville 3, Cedar Valley 2
No. 10 Springville defeated No. 7 Cedar Valley in a close 5-set match, advancing in the 5A playoffs with a 3-2 victory. Despite Cedar Valley taking the first two sets 26-24 and 25-22, Springville rallied back to win the next three sets 25-14, 25-20, and 15-11. Evan Straw led Springville with 22 kills and 11 digs. Garrett Kilgrow and Christian Hopkins also contributed for Springville, each notching 11 kills to secure the win.