6A quarterfinals
Orem 3, Wasatch 0
Top-seeded Orem had a tough stretch of matches to start this season, as it lost to Corner Canyon, Skyridge and Green Canyon consecutively. Orem was also without star outside hitter Meilani Akana, who missed time while playing in Chile for the U17 Brazil national team.
But after the losing streak, the Tigers have responded by winning 24 straight matches, including Thursday’s 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Wasatch in the 4A quarterfinals.
“One thing we’re learning is adversity will come,” said Orem coach Bill Sefita. “One thing we talked about last night with (director of mental health for BYU Athletics) Dr. Braden Brown is that we can’t avoid adversity.
“When they come, we got to address it. We’ve got to find ways to embrace it and then decide what we’re going to do. We get to decide what attitude we’re gonna choose and the effort we get to put into it.”
The mental toughness showed through in Orem’s dominant 25-14, 25-13 and 25-17 set wins Thursday. Akana led the way with 17 kills, and Haven Michaelis added 10. The Tigers also served strong with nine total aces.
Orem now has a chance to go into Friday’s semifinals and redeem last year’s championship loss to Desert Hills.
Desert Hills 3, Crimson Cliffs 1
The first meeting of the season between No. 5 Crimson Cliffs and No. 4 Desert Hills wasn’t the prettiest for the Thunder. It lost that match 3-1, including a dominant 25-10 win in the opening set for the Mustangs.
However, Desert Hills turned things around in the following meetings and got the last laugh in a 3-1 win over Crimson Cliffs in the 4A quarterfinals.
“They’re just fun to play,” said Desert Hills coach Craig Allred said of the Mustangs. “They’re obviously that rival and a really good program.
“A lot of these kids grew up together, so it’s going to be tough no matter what. It’s just a fight tooth and nail the whole time.”
The Thunder were on their way to a 3-0 sweep after winning the first two sets 25-21 and 25-23. The Mustangs mounted a late stand to take the third set 30-28, but in response, Desert Hills dominated the fourth set 25-17 for the quarterfinal win.
Jess Openshaw led the Thunder with 22 kills, and was also a vocal leader on the court. She then delivered two aces to seal the victory.
“I honestly can’t say enough good about her,” Allred said. “She is one of the absolute hardest workers. Obviously everybody sees that, but what people don’t necessarily see is all of her behind-the-scenes work and how much she loves and cares for her teammates.”
Setter Phoenix Shaw dished out 40 assists in the win, and Isabelle Andrus served four aces. Desert Hills will now get a rematch of last year’s 4A championship, which it won against Orem.
Provo 3, Cedar City 0
No. 3 Provo may not have hit very efficiently in its quarterfinal match against No. 6 Cedar, but it executed on all the little things to claim a 25-18, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of the Reds.
The Bulldogs only tallied 27 team kills and had 12 errors while hitting .150, but their scrappy defense was more than enough to get the sweep in the 4A quarterfinal.
Lupe Fonohema and Meliana Chrisman were especially helpful defensively on the net as the duo combined for eight blocks.
“Lupe Fonahema was really big time for us,” said Provo coach Stefanie Magalei. “She is blocking every big hitter, which is phenomenal, and she found shots on the floor that we’ve been working on all season and consistently and she was really big time.”
Provo added 60 team digs alongside its strong defense at the net. That, plus some good serves, made for a dominant performance, despite the hitting performance.
“If you look at our team, we’re very undersized, but we play way bigger than what our height is,” Magalei said. “Again, I’ll take it. We’ll just keep shoving the ball over and they’ll either mess up or we’ll start scoring.”
Green Canyon 3, Ridgeline 0
Green Canyon looked the part of its No. 2 seed as it dominated Day 1 of the 4A state tournament. The Wolves went 6-0 on the day, including a 25-13, 25-18 and 25-19 sweep of Region 11 rival Ridgeline in the 4A quarterfinal.
“I think we just kept it small and focused on one job at a time, one task at a time, and not focusing too far ahead on anything,” said Green Canyon coach Madison Larsen.
“I thought they did a really good job of staying present in the moment.”
Green Canyon dominated in its attack against Ridgeline, tallying 42 kills with a .326 team hitting percentage. Avery Birch was especially unstoppable with 16 kills on .500 hitting efficiency. Audrey White also added 11 kills, while setter Eliza Force had 31 assists.
“First of all, (Force) does a fantastic job distributing the offense,” Larsen said. “The really nice thing is that we do have a lot of weapons, and so when we can keep everybody involved, it spreads other teams thin on their blocking defense.
“I thought that they all stepped up and did a really nice job today.”
4A First Round
Orem 3, Timpanogos 0
The No. 1 Orem Tigers dominated No. 16 Timpanogos Timberwolves in straight sets, 25-14, 25-17, 25-15, advancing in the 4A Playoffs. The Tigers showcased a powerful performance, maintaining control throughout the match to secure the clean victory.
Desert Hills 3, Dixie 0
Defending 4A state champions Desert Hills made quick work of Dixie in a dominant 3-0 win during the first round of the state tournament at UVU. The Thunder overpowered the Flyers with a strong performance led by Sam Spencer’s 18 digs and Phoenix Shaw’s 29 assists. Jess Openshaw added firepower with 15 kills, while Lagi Tapasa contributed 10 kills. Desert Hills cruised through the sets with scores of 25-10, 25-17, and 25-15, advancing comfortably to the quarterfinals.
Wasatch 3, Murray 2
In a tightly contested 4A state tournament first-round match, the Wasatch Wasps edged the Murray Spartans with a 3-2 victory, propelled by Kylie Allen’s commanding performance. Allen delivered 24 kills with a hitting percentage of 0.396 and contributed four crucial blocks. The Wasps secured the match in a decisive fifth set, 16-14, after trailing 2-1 following the third set. The Spartans had taken sets two and three with scores of 25-21 and 25-20 respectively but couldn’t hold off Wasatch’s late surge.
Crimson Cliffs 3, Mountain View 2
No. 5 Crimson Cliffs Mustangs staged a comeback to edge past No. 12 Mountain View Bruins with a 3-2 victory in the 4A Playoffs. After dropping the first two sets 25-22 and 25-13, the Mustangs dug deep to win the next two sets 25-17 and 25-19. The decisive moment came in an intense final set, where the Mustangs triumphed 15-9 to close out the match.
Ridgeline 3, Snow Canyon 1
Ridgeline advanced in the 4A Playoffs with a commanding 3-1 victory over Snow Canyon. The RiverHawks took the first two sets 25-18 and 25-14 before the Warriors fought back to claim the third set 27-25. However, Ridgeline closed out the match decisively with a 25-15 win in the fourth set. Lili Madsen led Ridgeline with 15 kills, supported by Wren Bingham’s 13 and Brooke Smart’s 10, securing the team’s spot in the next playoff round.
Green Canyon 3, Sky View 0
Green Canyon Wolves swept the Sky View Bobcats in a dominant 3-0 victory during the 4A playoffs. Audrey White led the charge with 13 kills, hitting .400, and added 3 aces. Avery Birch contributed 9 kills with a .375 hitting percentage, as the Wolves collectively hit .390 as a team. Sky View struggled to keep up, managing just 39 total points over three sets with the Wolves securing set victories of 25-16, 25-16, and a commanding 25-7.
Provo 3, Hurricane 0
Provo Bulldogs dominated the Hurricane Tigers with a decisive 3-0 victory in the 4A Playoffs, capitalizing on strong performances across the board. Lupe Fonohema and Mel Chrisman led Provo’s attack with 10 and 11 kills, respectively. Nevaeh Magalei and Nivale Magalei led the defense, each recording 15 digs and limiting Hurricane’s scoring opportunities. The Bulldogs asserted their dominance early, taking the first set 25-11 and continued to control the pace throughout, closing out the match in straight sets.
Cedar City 3, Bear River 1
Cedar City emerged victorious over Bear River in a contentious 4A playoff matchup, winning 3-1. Alex Esplin led the Reds with an impressive performance, notching 15 kills with a .467 hitting percentage. Despite Bear River taking the second set 25-22, Cedar City rallied to win the third set 27-25 and secure the fourth set 25-21. Kendyl Harrison and Shawni Larson contributed significantly to the Reds’ offense with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.