Three local teams still have a shot at winning titles following the first two rounds of the state volleyball tournament Friday at UVU's McKay Events Center.

As expected, top-ranked Pleasant Grove breezed through the first day in the 5A classification, defeating both opponents in three games.

The road was a little tougher for Lone Peak, but the result was exactly the same. The Knights beat two teams that were both higher-seeded and higher-ranked to advance to today's semifinals.

In the 4A ranks, half the local entrants made it through to the quarterfinals, but only one remains. Mountain View advanced by beating Stansbury but then fell to Dixie.

Spanish Fork and Lehi both survived their initial matches in the brutal lower bracket, but then had to face each other, with the Dons coming out on top.

The Bruins, Springville, Orem and the Pioneers remain alive in consolation play. Here's a summary of how the day went.

CLASS 5A

QUARTERFINALS

• Lone Peak def. Northridge 25-10, 25-20, 20-25, 24-26, 15-8: From the way this match started, it didn't look like the Region 1 champion and fifth-ranked Northridge was going to put up much of a fight as they were overwhelmed by Lone Peak's firepower in the first game.

The LP Knights spiked their way to a 10-1 advantage and never looked back.

The second game was much more respectable for the NR Knights as the teams dueled back-and-forth until they were tied once again at 14.

At that point, a slam from Chloe Jarema put her team up for good. An Ashlan Rogers baseline kill, big blocks from Whitney Johnson and Cami Richan, plus a final hit by Coralie Jarema wrapped up the set.

However, Northridge was not about to lie down and get run over. They started Game 3 with renewed energy and led the whole way. Game 4 was a see-saw battle from beginning to end but the NR Knights were able to prevail.

As so many Lone Peak teams have done before them, however, when the chips were down in Game 5, the LP Knights left no doubt about who was going to win this deciding fifth set.

Chloe Jarema got things started with a tipover spike. Richan added a baseline score to bring Whitney Ashton to the service line.

The squad then picked up six straight points, all with blocks and kills, to move ahead 7-1, and that was as close as it got the rest of the way.

Rogers finished with 20 kills, three aces and a block. Richan had 11 kills and three blocks, Chloe Jarema had 12 kills and Johnson added seven kills and two blocks. Kix Adolpho had 43 assists and 11 digs, while Ashton had 25 digs, about one-third of which were converted for points.

"The girls persevered and did a good job sticking together," said Lone Peak coach Deanna Meyer. "They took care of things when they needed to. They'll be ready for tomorrow."

• Pleasant Grove defeated Layton 25-15, 25-10, 25-23: The Lancers tried to at least win a game with a good effort in the third set, but Kimberly Dahl's kill finished them off. She had 10 kills and an impressive five aces in the match.

Danica Mendivil added 12 kills, Melissa Rider had eight, Jennifer Hamson seven and Kemi McFarland six to go with 20 assists. Rae Mulitalo tallied 19 assists in the contest.

Noting that three of the 5A semifinalists are from Region 4, Pleasant Grove coach Jamie Schapper said she felt very fortunate to be able to play teams of that caliber every day and thought that helped her team prepare for the playoffs.

She added that she saw pretty much what she expected from her own players today. "They had a solid performance," she said. "Everything they were asked to do, they did.

"In this second match, I asked them to show me how they want to play tomorrow," the coach said. "They did just that, demonstrating heart and will."

• Other matches: Brighton def. Davis 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 25-12; Bingham def. Cottonwood 25-21, 25-10, 25-15

• Consolation bracket: Taylorsville def. Murray 22-25, 25-21, 25-9, 25-13; Hunter def. Riverton 25-20, 25-12, 26-24; Skyline def. Weber 17-25, 25-11, 25-19, 24-26, 15-9; Syracuse def. Alta 23-25, 27-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10

FIRST ROUND

• Lone Peak def. Taylorsville 25-19, 25-21, 25-19: The Region 3 second seed and 12th-ranked Warriors did not go down easily, but they fell behind about one-third of the distance through each set and could not find a way to overcome the deficits.

Rogers finished with 14 kills, Johnson added six with four blocks, and Coralie Jarema added eight kills. Ashton had 10 digs and passed very well.

• Pleasant Grove def. Weber 25-8, 25-20, 25-12: The Warriors were the fifth seed from Region 1, and their reward for making the playoffs was to face the state's most formidable team.

They made a valiant effort, particularly in the second game, but they had nothing with which to counter the balanced Viking attack and defense.

Mendivil and Hamson had nine kills apiece and Rider added six. McFarland and Mulitalo each posted 14 assists and Makell Hymas served four aces.

• Other matches: Northridge def. Murray 22-25, 25-19, 25-5, 25-9; Davis def. Hunter 25-18, 23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-13; Brighton def. Riverton 25-18, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23;Layton def. Skyline 25-14, 25-22, 25-23; Bingham def. Alta 25-18, 25-19, 25-14; Cottonwood def. Syracuse 25-13, 25-16, 25-22

CLASS 4A

QUARTERFINALS

• Spanish Fork def. Lehi 25-23, 25-18, 25-22: Both teams played with skill and spirit, but the Dons were able to find a way to outlast the Pioneers in this terrific match

Game 1 was close from start to finish. With the score tied at 22, Lehi's Aly White served a ball that was returned out-of-bounds to put her team up one.

Erin Redd countered with a kill for Spanish Fork, and then McKyla Theurer scored with a serve. Kylie Schofield finished off the set with a kill, later adding another to secure the match for the Dons.

"We wear down good defensive teams like Lehi because we hit so well," said Spanish Fork coach Diana Troyer. "Lehi is solid all the way around. We aren't used to having so many long rallies; generally, we've put the ball away a lot quicker."

She's pleased to find her team in the semifinals. "We knew we could get there if we played well," she said. "The girls have done a good job adjusting to this court and the atmosphere. If we can keep it up, we have a chance."

Redd finished with 17 kills, 10 digs and three aces, while Schofield added six kills, four blocks, three aces and seven digs. Tanner Tobiasson hit .43 in the contest. Danee Merrell had 25 assists, five digs and 2.5 blocks. Theurer added 14 digs.

• Dixie def. Mountain View 25-13, 25-18, 25-19: The Flyers proved to be too much for the Bruins, winning in straight sets.

• Other matches: Highland def. Sky View 24-26, 25-18, 26-24, 25-19; Snow Canyon def. Bountiful 25-8, 25-17, 25-16

• Consolation bracket: Springville def. Stansbury 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-2; Uintah def. Westlake 25-21, 25-21, 25-11; Orem def. Box Elder 25-23, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21, 15-11; Olympus def. Mountain Crest 25-12, 25-18, 18-25, 25-20

FIRST ROUND

• Mountain View def. Stansbury 25-19, 25-20, 25-22: Mountain View, the top seed from Region 7, rolled through Stansbury in three games to open the tournament.

After losing Game 1, Stansbury battled in Game 2 and trailed just 8-7 after a Mountain View hitting error. But the Bruins took control and after a Chelsey Schofield kill and a Stansbury hitting error took a 20-12 lead. A Schofield attack and a block by Lindsey Ezola brought Mountain View to game point, and another Schofield kill gave the Bruins the 25-20 win.

Game 3 was tied at 20-all before Mountain View ran off four straight points, including a kill by Rachel Steele and a tandem block from Schofield and Steele. At second match point (24-22), Schofield blasted a kill for the game winner.

"We played well," Mountain View head coach Jim Young said. "but it wasn't our top-notch game. The girls know they have more to give and I know they will. For a couple of girls this was their first time here at the state tournament. We just need to clean up our serves and get our passes off the net."

Schofield led Mountain View with 11 kills and Steele contributed five kills and three blocks.

• Spanish Fork def. Mountain Crest 26-28, 25-15, 25-12, 25-20: The Dons were a bit inconsistent against the Mustangs, but coach Diana Troyer said there was a pretty simple explanation.

"This is our team's first year at state in a long time," she said. "We needed to get the jitters out. We didn't play well against Mountain Crest, but we got it done."

Redd had 20 kills hitting .44 and Schofield added 12 with eight digs and five aces. McKyla Theurer hit .42 with eight kills and six digs and Danee Merrell had 41 assists.

• Lehi def. Olympus 34-32, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11: The Pioneers had a marathon battle against the Titans but found a way to pull it out to advance in the winner's bracket.

"Wow, that's a lot of emotion for one afternoon," said Lehi coach Jamie Ingersoll. "We just couldn't build any rallies. The teams just went back and forth.

"There was a lot of excitement and some nerves on both sides," she continued. "This was two good teams trying to get that first match win. It's really good to have it, because we've been on the other side before."

She said the key for her squad was keeping it together mentally. "The defense kept us in it at times, but the important thing was, we didn't collapse. Good serving helped us in Game 5.

"No one tanked and no one was amazing. It was just six kids having a good game together."

Miranda Parkinson led the effort with 16 kills, while BreElle Bailey and Mikayla Dunford added 11 each and Katy Ford had eight. White made 23 digs and the team served nine aces.

• Dixie def. Springville 25-18, 27-25, 25-19: Springville opened the tournament with a difficult match against Region 9's second-place team and fell in three games.

Springville had a chance to even the match at 1-1 in the second game, scoring the first eight points and taking a 24-18 lead at game point. But Dixie scored six straight points, including a kill and a block from Jennika Wright, to tie the game at 24. A Dixie hitting error brought Springville to game point at 25-24, but a passing error knotted the game up at 25. On Dixie's game point serve, Springville committed a passing error to end it in Dixie's favor.

• Highland def. Westlake 25-15, 25-17, 25-12: The third-ranked Rams topped the Region 7 fourth seed in three games.

• Snow Canyon def. Orem 25-15, 25-14, 25-21: The Tigers put up a good fight but didn't have quite enough to defeat the two-time defending champions.

• Other matches: Sky View def. Uintah 25-22, 8-25, 25-22, 26-24; Bountiful def. Box Elder 25-19, 25-13, 25-17

• Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Darnell Dickson can be reached at ddickson@heraldextra.com.

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