OREM — Maline Vaitai started the tournament with 23 kills and finished it with 16 and three aces as the Olympus Titans snagged sixth place in the 4A state volleyball tournament.
The Titans came on strong in a 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 victory over the Springville Red Devils, and they were led by the strong arm and leadership of their senior, who started her high school career as a setter.
She was a good setter, but since she was the team's best hitter, they decided to change her position early in her high school career and since the change, Vaitai's gotten plenty of attention from collegiate coaches. She still hasn't decided which University she wants to sign with.
She led the Titans through the entire state tournament and was a big spark plug for them after a devastating five-game loss to Lehi in the team's first match, the match that sent them into the sixth place bracket.
But the Titans came on strong and were thrilled with their sixth place finish and proud of the way they came back in in tournament.
"Last year was our first year in the state tournament for a long time, and this year even though we lost in the first round, we came back strong. This is a very successful run for our program," said Olympus coach Sam Vaitai with tears in his eyes because he was so proud of his team.
Allie Spurrier led the team in the final match against the Red Devils with 17 kills, followed closely by Maline Vaitai with 16 kills and three aces. Karliann Ence finished with eight kills in a strong effort in the tournament.
The Red Devils were led by some hard-nosed team play and a strong match by junior Kristin Clark. She had plenty of help from her teammates including great setting by Jenny Scott and Nichole Barton and more solid hitting from Turia Andrus, Shea Aldana and Lakin Gleave.
The Red Devils ended their tournament with an eighth place finish.