High school boys volleyball: Mountain View withstands Desert Hills to win 4A state championship

All season long, Mountain View has been at its best when playing from behind, so when the Bruins were down 9-7 in the fifth set of the 4A championship game against Desert Hills Saturday, they didn’t panic one bit.

Instead, Mountain View responded by closing with an 8-3 run to beat the Thunder 3-2 and hoist its first-ever championship trophy.

“They don’t panic,” said Mountain View head coach Jon Fairbanks. “They have a lot of poise. They have a lot of trust in each other, and they have a lot of talent, so at some point, they know that they can do it.”

Photo Gallery: 1 of 32

1 of 32

Photo Gallery: 2 of 32

2 of 32

Photo Gallery: 3 of 32

3 of 32

Photo Gallery: 4 of 32

4 of 32

Photo Gallery: 5 of 32

5 of 32

Photo Gallery: 6 of 32

6 of 32

Photo Gallery: 7 of 32

7 of 32

Photo Gallery: 8 of 32

8 of 32

Photo Gallery: 9 of 32

9 of 32

Photo Gallery: 10 of 32

10 of 32

Photo Gallery: 11 of 32

11 of 32

Photo Gallery: 12 of 32

12 of 32

Photo Gallery: 13 of 32

13 of 32

Photo Gallery: 14 of 32

14 of 32

Photo Gallery: 15 of 32

15 of 32

Photo Gallery: 16 of 32

16 of 32

Photo Gallery: 17 of 32

17 of 32

Photo Gallery: 18 of 32

18 of 32

Photo Gallery: 19 of 32

19 of 32

Photo Gallery: 20 of 32

20 of 32

Photo Gallery: 21 of 32

21 of 32

Photo Gallery: 22 of 32

22 of 32

Photo Gallery: 23 of 32

23 of 32

Photo Gallery: 24 of 32

24 of 32

Photo Gallery: 25 of 32

25 of 32

Photo Gallery: 26 of 32

26 of 32

Photo Gallery: 27 of 32

27 of 32

Photo Gallery: 28 of 32

28 of 32

Photo Gallery: 29 of 32

29 of 32

Photo Gallery: 30 of 32

30 of 32

Photo Gallery: 31 of 32

31 of 32

Photo Gallery: 32 of 32

32 of 32

Despite being a come-from-behind team, Mountain View took the first swing with a 25-22 first set win Saturday. Desert Hills certainly didn’t fold though, as its offense remained lethal throughout even as the Bruins capitalized on its mistakes.

Desert Hills largely runs its offense through star outside hitter Brodie Hoag, who finished Saturday with 27 kills. Fairbanks knew an offense like Desert Hills’ wasn’t going to be fully stopped, but Mountain View did its best to make the Thunder uncomfortable.

For the Bruins, that meant it started with the serve.

“We just knew that we had to serve tough so that he didn’t get great sets,” Faribanks said of Hoag. “He had to deal with stuff that was coming from behind the 10-foot line, but he’s going to get his.

“All you can do with every great player is just try to slow him down, and then hope that the other guys can’t beat you.”

Meanwhile, Mountain View had its own offensive weapon in Nicholas Nelson, who was the focal point all evening and finished with 20 kills.

Nelson said his success comes from continuity with his teammates.

“A lot of these teams we play, they have some really good players, but we’ve been playing together for as long as we’ve been playing,” said Nelson.

“That just helps us know if somebody’s not up to it right now, we can go to somebody else and come back to them as soon as they’re up to it.”

While Mountain View was trying to contain Hoag, Desert Hills had to try to contain Nelson. That left Carson King open to make an impact, and he finished with 12 kills of his own.

“If it’s not going to Nick, it’s usually going to me,” King said. “(Setter Adam Maya) just runs the other side, and he’ll usually just throw it back to me, and I just put it down.”

Nelson, King and the Mountain View offense were the stars of the show, but often it was the defense and libero Henry Hulse that laid the groundwork for the win.

Hulse set the tone defensively, not only with routine digs but also with hustle plays to keep the ball up. That defensive tenacity spread to his teammates, and they were running all over to keep the ball up, including leaps over their own bench.

“They took down those side nets, and we have everywhere to play,” Nelson said of the defense. “If the ball goes there, we can play it. We’re going to put it all on this court.”

The win was a full-circle moment for Mountain View. It was a participant in the first-ever sanctioned boys volleyball game in Utah three years ago. Fairbanks has been with the program the whole way, and for over a decade before with the club team.

Now, the Bruins can finally say they’re state champions.

“It’s been a long journey,” Fairbanks said. “Just so proud of these seniors, that most of them played that three years ago in that match. To be able to win a state championship in their last match was something special.”