Knights coach Reed Carlson sat down with Tupea and explained what was going to be expected of her in 2021.

“Reed told me exactly how it was,” Tupea said. “He told me the truth in the most blunt way ever. That’s what started me going. He told me I was small and that meant I wouldn’t be able to bounce the ball (in attacks) like I would want to. I was going to need to go off blockers hands. That was going to be my game. I needed to be faster and quicker. I needed to be technical instead of doing it with power.”

Tupea, who played outside hitter at an undersized 5-foot-6, made the most of her opportunity and is the Daily Herald’s Valley Player of the Year for 2021.

The Knights were brimming with talent coming into the season, including Utah commit KJ Burgess at middle blocker, Emeline Hudson at outside hitter and Hannah Hawkins returning at setter. Six Lone Peak seniors will get an opportunity to play at the next level.

But it was Tupea who was a consistent, steadying, emotional influence that helped the Knights overcome an 0-2 start and make their way to the top.

“I love how competitive volleyball makes me,” Tupea said. “It’s something that’s worth being dramatic about. It’s so much fun to be so fully invested in the sport and to be so emotionally connected.”

Lauren Jardine was the alpha player for the Knights in 2020 and after leading her team to the state championship she enrolled at Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin.

As the roster for 2021 began to take shape, Carlson needed Tupea to be a better version of the player she was as a junior.

“We talked really early on about how she was going to have to be that ball control outside for us,” Carlson said. “She wanted to be a six-rotation player. She was taking on a huge responsibility with serve receive and being a low error outside. She needed to carry us on the back row and take some back row swings. She also needed to take a leadership role from an emotional standpoint. She got everybody on the team to stay focused and work together. Jayda definitely contributed from A to Z.”

Carlson said he immediately saw improvement from Tupea over the summer and into fall camp.

“She was jumping higher and hitting harder,” Carlson said. “She’s a smart girl. She understands the intellectual part of the game. She looked around at her teammates and she was the person who would talk to them to help fit the pieces together.”

Tupea and her teammates had to work on being competitive with each other in practice.

“Reed had to pull out the mean side in us,” she said. “He said, ‘What is wrong with you guys, why are you so nice to each other?’ We love each other so much but we had to be willing to mean to each other in practice.”

Volleyball runs in Tupea’s family. Her mother and her aunt played, and her sister, Journey, competed at North Idaho College. Jayda Tupea transferred to Lone Peak from Bingham and set out to prove herself in one of the most successful volleyball programs in the state.

As a junior, Tupea was mainly a back row passer and also contributed 44 service aces as the Knights defeated Copper Hills for the 2020 6A title.

Her 2021 season statistics include finishing second on the team in kills with 259 (2.5 per set) and second in digs with 302 (2.9 per set) while adding 47 aces. Tupea also handled 608 service receptions at nearly a 90 percent rate.

Tupea has other interests aside from volleyball to keep her well rounded, including a fashion style that’s all her own and baking.

“My specialty is I make a pretty mean cake with chocolate caramel and heath candy bars,” she said.

Tupea has aspirations to continue playing volleyball at the next level, but her experience as a senior is one she’ll never forget. The Knights defeated Region 4 rival Pleasant Grove 3-1 in the 6A final to finish the season with a 27-5 record and win the school’s tenth state volleyball championship.

“Winning the state title was breathtaking,” she said. “Being in an environment with so many people rooting for you and winning, I still think it’s crazy. I’m out of words to describe how good of a feeling it was to be part of the group that did that. It made it a lot more special for me to prove to everyone who doubted me because I was a 5-6 outside hitter.”