High school girls volleyball: Desert Hills takes 4A state championship over Orem in 4-set thriller

No. 2 seed Desert Hills secured the 4A state championship with an impressive and emphatic four-set victory over top-ranked and defending champion Orem on Tuesday at UCCU Center.

Desert Hills controlled the match early, taking the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-17, before Orem eventually clawed its way back into the match to claim the third, 25-19. Desert Hills then closed out the match in a hard-fought back and forth final set, 26-24, to capture the 4A state title.

“Every team starts out with the goal to win the championship and only one can claim it in the end. That was such a fun state championship game,” said Desert Hills head coach Craig Allred.” It was the typical volleyball match where the momentum was back and forth. One minute the momentum was on our side and the next they grabbed it.”

Desert Hills played with a sense of poise and consistency throughout the match. They came out from the outset with their foot on the gas and never let up.

After controlling the majority of the first set, Desert Hills went on a 5-0 run to end the set and take the 1-0 lead.

Momentum stayed on their side and much like the first set, with Desert Hills once again going on multiple mini-runs and scoring the final four points to make it two sets to none.

After losing to Orem in the semifinals last year in straight sets, Desert Hills came out wanting to prove that it belonged among the elite.

“Orem deserves a ton of credit. They’ve pretty much been the class of our class for a long time and it’s always fun to be able to get a chance to play them. They’re reputation precedes them and they’re a very solid group,” added Allred.

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Orem may have been down but in no way were the Tigers out of the match. It was only a matter of time before they started playing the type of volleyball that they have become known for. The top seed ramped things up in the third set, with a renewed energy and focus that was possibly lacking earlier in the match.

After extending the match and pushing Desert Hills to a vital fourth set, Orem found itself with a set point with the score at 24-23. Desert Hills, however, just like it had done throughout the entirety of the match, was able to pull out the victory by scoring three straight points to take the set and seal the championship.

Allred said that the tough schedule that Desert Hills had to face during the regular season went a long way in preparing his team to face a top-tier group like Orem.

“Our girls have really built a ton of confidence. We had a really tough non-region schedule, and I think four of our losses were against teams that were top 10 in the entire nation. In those situations, it kind of helped us build some of that grit that you need to be able to go and play at a really high level,” said Allred.

More than that, what defined Desert Hill’s season and allowed them to win the 4A title was the chemistry and close bond that the players had developed as the year had gone on.

“Just the amount of love that the girls have for each other. They truth love each other and want better for their teammates. When you care that much about your teammates, you want to play so hard for them and then good things will happen,” said Allred.