6A Boys Volleyball: Region 3 making big splash in first state tournament (2024)

By Darnell Dickson - | May 16, 2024

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Westlake's Kalika Tafa, right, and teammate Keagan Cundiff celebrate a point during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Two Lehi boys volleyball players do handstands before the start of a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Herriman at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Skyridge boys volleyball fans celebrate a point during the 6A state tournament at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lone Peak's Freddy Dayton (11) reaches for the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Players on the Lone Peak bench react during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lone Peak's Brady Holt serves the ball against Farmington in a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lone Peak's Adam Cave takes a swing during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lone Peak's Easton Read sets the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington in the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Players on the Skyridge boys volleyball team celebrate a point during a 6A state tournament match against Davis at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Westlake's Will Harris (left) and Kilika Tafa raise up for a block against Weber in the 6A boys volleyball state tournament at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Westlake's Kilika Tafa takes a swing against Weber in a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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A Pleasant Grove boys volleyball fan waves her hat during a 6A state tournament match against Copper Hills at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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: Westlake’s Kalika Tafa, right, and teammate Keagan Cundiff celebrate a point during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Two Lehi boys volleyball players do handstands before the start of a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Herriman at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Skyridge boys volleyball fans celebrate a point during the 6A state tournament at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Freddy Dayton (11) reaches for the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Players on the Lone Peak bench react during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Adam Cave takes a swing against Farmington in a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: American Fork players celebrate a point during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: American Fork’s Justin Thorpe (23) blocks a shot by Mountain Ridge during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: American Fork’s Maxim Hale, 33, swings against the Mountain Ridge block during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lehi freshman Ashton Shewell takes a swing against Herriman during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lehi’s Dylan Avery (12) and Noah Tauai put up a block against Herriman during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Trevor Allen digs the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Brady Holt serves the ball against Farmington in a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Adam Cave takes a swing during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Lone Peak’s Easton Read sets the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match against Farmington in the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Players on the Skyridge boys volleyball team celebrate a point during a 6A state tournament match against Davis at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Westlake’s Will Harris (left) and Kilika Tafa raise up for a block against Weber in the 6A boys volleyball state tournament at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: Westlake’s Kilika Tafa takes a swing against Weber in a 6A boys volleyball state tournament match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

: A Pleasant Grove boys volleyball fan waves her hat during a 6A state tournament match against Copper Hills at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Before the start of Lehi’s second round 6A boys volleyball state tournament second round match against No. 1 Herriman, two Pioneer players performed impressive handstands.

The state of Utah has gone head over heels for high school boys volleyball.

The sport competed for the first time this spring and the high level of play was apparent during Thursday’s 5A and 6A state tournament at Utah Valley’s UCCU Center, four matches going on a once amidst loud, supportive fans.

“The energy in here is insane,” said Westlake coach Whitney Randall, in her first year coaching boys volleyball. “I was having a hard time trying to keep my boys focused on our game because we’ve got games going all over the place. But honestly, it’s just such a fun environment to be in. Coming into this game, we knew we were going to be a little bit tight because it was a new situation. We were going to make unforced errors but we just tried to minimize those in our first match.”

The No. 2 seed Thunder took care of its second round match with No. 15 Weber, winning in four sets (25-16, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17).

“This whole experience of the first season of high school volleyball has been great,” Westlake’s leading hitter Kilika Tafa said. “We’re in it to win it, I can tell you that much. I really liked our energy. We’re a very energetic team and I feel like we’re all on the same page. But even if we’re not, we’re still pretty good with each other.”

Randall said the competitiveness of the tournament should bring out the best in her team.

I think it’s important for us to focus on our side and to play and do the things that we know we do,” she said. “I think that’s why if you look at the top six or seven teams, they all have three or four losses to each other. It’s just because we’re all kind of learning the ebb and flow of the score and what it’s supposed to look like. It’s been really fun and a great season. We’re happy with coming in as the two seed and we’re hoping to continue winning.”

Region 3 teams competed well, with No. 3 Pleasant Grove, No. 5 Lone Peak and No. 9 Skyridge also moving on to the quarterfinals. Pleasant Grove had the toughest test, falling behind No. 14 Copper Hills 2-0 but rallying for a reverse sweep at a 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-10) victory. In Set 5, a 3-0 run keyed by aces from Tyson Jarvis got the Vikings the early lead at 6-3. Kenadi Lee had two big attacks for points, the second a roll shot giving PG a 13-10 advantage. Brayden Thomas spun an ace for the winner at 15-10.

Lone Peak had to recover from a bad first set against No. 12 Farmington, suffering a 25-18 loss. But the Knights won the next three sets (25-15, 25-22, 25-21) to move on in the tournament. Skyridge took care of No. 8 Davis 3-1 (18-25, 32-30, 25-13, 27-25) to stay alive.

No. 13 American Fork had the tough task of playing No. 4 Mountain Ridge, a team it had lost to twice during the season. The Sentinels eventually won 3-1, but the Cavemen forced three of the sets into extra points, winning Set 2 29-27 but losing Set 3 30-28 and Set 4 28-26.

Three of the four semifinalist are from Region 3. No. 9 Skyridge pulled the shocker of the day, knocking off No. 1 Herriman 3-1 (25-27, 28-26, 25-19, 25-22) in the quarterfinals. No. 5 Lone Peak downed No. 4 Mountain Ridge in four sets (25-18, 15-25, 25-23, 25-22) and No. 3 Pleasant Grove swept No. 11 Bingham (25-19, 25-18, 25-22).

The top-rated Region 3 team, No. 2 seed Westlake, was upset by No. 7 Syracuse 3-1 and will play in Friday’s consolation rounds.

The semifinals and finals will be staged on Saturday.

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6A Boys Volleyball: Region 3 making big splash in first state tournament (2024)

By Darnell Dickson - | May 16, 2024

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