High school girls volleyball: North Sanpete wins its first championship in any sport since 2009

North Sanpete just witnessed one of its single most successful teams of any sport in school history cruise to a state championship.

The last time the Hawks’ volleyball team won a state championship was 2009. Coincidentally, it was also the last time North Sanpete won a state championship of any sport.

“I just think that this group of kids, they were fearless,” said North Sanpete head coach Rickie Stewart. “They were resilient and they were tough as nails. They set out with a goal and they accomplished their goal.

“The goal was not to go undefeated. The goal was to be playing our best volleyball at the state tournament, and these kids were determined.”

The Hawks’ girls volleyball team made everything look easy not just in the state tournament, but through thier entire season. Its 32-0 season looks impressive, but it’s even more so when you consider that it lost only two sets the entire year. It’s final set record was 96-2.

It only made sense that North Sanpete continued the trend in the 3A championship, where it swept Morgan 25-13, 25-23 and 25-17.

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North Sanpete contains plenty of hitting power, especially with Stewart’s daughter Rylee Stewart, but it really kills opponents with consistency. The Hawks as a team play with very minimal mistakes and they quickly punish teams for theirs.

There was a few times where Morgan started to take advantage, but its efforts were quickly squashed.

In the second set, Morgan enjoyed one of its brief moments where it held a lead. The Trojans led 10-8, North Sanpete took a timeout and rallied back to a 12-10 lead.

That was the story of the game. Any brief moment of a Morgan push was quickly subsided. Nobody crushed Morgan’s momentum more than Rylee Stewart.

Stewart dominated offensively in a way that was difficult for the Trojans to handle. Her swing was fast and strong, but her placement on her swings were above all.

Her kills consistently hit the back corner, or down the line, or near the 10-foot line to avoid defenders. She finished with a game-high 25 kills.

“Riley has worked incredibly hard and to say I’m proud would be an understatement,” coach Stewart said. “She is an incredible volleyball player and an incredible person and I’m so proud of the work that she puts in and how she’s great at what she does.”

North Sanpete got defense done by committee. It set the tone early with multiple blocks to open the first set and disrupted the Morgan attack.

Teya Bailey led in digs with 14 while Rylee Stewart also had two blocks to shore up the defense.

Senior Kaylee Youd contributed to the attack with seven kills in the championship match.

It wasn’t just a meaningful win for the team, but for the community. Folks from Mount Pleasant filled the UCCU Center in Orem to cheer on the school’s first state championship in 16 years.

“We just have such a great community and I think they really needed this even more than we did,” Rylee Stewart said. “It was great to just have an unbelievable season and just to finish it out with a win.

“I’ve just been waiting for this moment since I was a child and my mom coached the 2009 championship. I’ve always wanted this and I’ve worked really hard to get here.”