A loss to Wasatch in early April made all the difference for Bountiful in Thursday’s 5A state championship match against the Wasps.
That April loss was Bountiful’s only defeat of the year to that point, and many coaches could’ve written it off as just a byproduct of playing the arguably best team in the state on the road.
However, Bountiful coach Sarah Chism knew better.
In that game, the Redhawks were handed a convincing loss, but they gained crucial information about their biggest weaknesses. Chism knew that for Bountiful to be championship material, it had to improve its consistency on attacks and passes.
Chism decided the best way to achieve that was to shift Connor Burleson to setter and Landon Chism from setter to outside hitter.
It was a bold move to make such a significant lineup shift with less than a month left in the season, but it worked wonders in Thursday’s title match, which the Redhawks won, 3-1.
“We just settled into this lineup really late in the season,” Sarah Chism said. “We discovered it through some trials that we went through, and it just really blossomed for us into what we saw today.”
What blossomed from that shift was a lethal attack that Wasatch struggled all evening to stop Thursday. The Redhawks finished the championship bout with four players recording at least 10 kills.
“We have so many versatile players that we know wherever we’re put is where we need to be, and it’s where we’ll help this team the most,” said Landon Chism, who finished Thursday with 14 kills, four aces and two blocks.
“I was just going wherever the team needed me, and that was setting at the beginning of the year and at end of the season playing outside.”
Burleson has also flourished in his new role as setter and was the engine for the overpowering Bountiful offense.
“I love setting. I love hitting. It’s all great,” Burleson said. “The switch honestly wasn’t too hard. I’ve set before in the past, and I love supporting my teammates. I like that it’s a big role and I loved it.”
Despite a dominant 25-13 first-set win Thursday — which was the worst set loss of the year for Wasatch — it wasn’t a perfect match for Bountiful.
After the lackluster start, the Wasps punched right back in the second. Wasatch’s signature offense was back online, and it evened the match with a 25-19 set win.
All the momentum was behind Wasatch, but the Redhawks knew how to win from this position.
In the quarterfinals of the state tournament, Bountiful trailed 0-2 to Viewmont. With its tournament life on the line, the Redhawks mounted a reverse sweep.
“Coming into this, I felt they had a calm about them, where they just kind of felt like, ‘This is ours if we stay together and do the things that we need to do,’” said Sarah Chism.
“I think we can thank our quarterfinal win for that, honestly, because we knew that we were never going to stop believing.”
After dropping the second set Thursday, Bountiful went on to win consecutive sets 25-23 and 25-21 for its first state championship.
The Redhawks got the win largely thanks to strong performances. Aidan Sanford finished with 15 kills, Cooper Wood added 14 and Matt Pulsipher 10.
“We’re a very in-depth team, and literally anyone can go off any night,” Sanford said. “That’s our strong suit.”
The defense also had a large impact for Bountiful. Wasatch struggled to hit past the block, which resulted in increased errors on its hits.
Boston Nelson and Sanford led the team with three blocks each, while Pulsipher and Landon Chism each had two.
“We made sure that we were disciplined with our hands,” Sarah Chism said. “Our defenders played around them, trying to take away what they wanted and just make them do what we wanted them to do.”
It was a cathartic win for Bountiful. The Redhawks lost in the championship in 2024 and the semifinals last year.
“This group has been battling for this for three years,” said Sarah Chism. “They started Bountiful volleyball, they’ve stuck with it and they believed that this was at the end of the road.”