Pleasant Grove playing best volleyball heading into state
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- The Pleasant Grove girls volleyball team celebrates a point during a 6A state tournament match against Taylorsville on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Lacie Valgardson gets a kill during a 6A state tournament volleyball match against Taylorsville on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
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- Pleasant Grove girls volleyball coach Isa Takahashi greets one of his players before the start of a 6A state tournament match against Taylorsville on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Lauren Waters (2) and Avrie Valgardson block a Taylorsville attack during a 6A state tournament volleyball match on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Hannah Olsen (9), Lauren Waters (2) and Taytum Nelson await the end of a time out during a 6A state volleyball playoff match on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
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- Pleasant Grove girls volleyball coach Isa Takahashi gives instruction to his team during a 6A state tournament match against Taylorsville on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
The Pleasant Grove girls volleyball program has won eight state titles and earned runner-up honors in the 6A tournament last season.
Expectations come with the territory.
That’s the situation former Timpanogos coach Isa Takahashi walked into when he took the job with the Vikings last spring.
PG started the 2022 season slowly but is putting things together at the right time, having won 10 of its past 12 matches after sweeping Taylorsville 25-10, 25-7, 25-20 in the first round of the Class 6A volleyball tournament on Tuesday.
Senior Lacie Valgardson led the Vikings with 14 kills.
“We’ve kind of worked out all the kinks,” she said. “It was kind of rough at first because this group hadn’t played together, so it took us a second to mesh and figure everyone out. During the second part of region, we played a lot better.”
A pair of Valgardson kills pushed Pleasant Grove to an 8-5 lead in Set 1, and an ace from Cassidy Brinton made it 16-8. A Taylorsville error got the home team to set point and an attack from Valgardson landed for a 25-10 victory.
The Vikings were even more dominant in Set 2, racing to an 11-1 lead highlighted by a service ace from Sophie Eubank and a Valgardson kill. Another ace by Hannah Olsen made it 17-4 for PG. At set point, Eubank got the kill for the 25-7 victory.
Taylorsville, the No. 24 seed, made a better showing in Set 3 behind the serving of Ashley Okabe and Kamerita Visesio, who each totaled a pair of aces. The Warriors trimmed an eight-point deficit to four, 24-20, before Valgardson’s tip ended the set and the match for PG.
“We had our moments of greatness, but we also had our lulls,” Takahashi said. “At the same time, I don’t expect them to be perfect. We got stressed with some little things at the end, but they played well. I think my girls are ready.”
Takahashi said he understands the expectations that come with coaching at Pleasant Grove.
“There is a lot pressure but there is also a lot of greatness and a lot of legacy,” Takahashi said. “The prior coaches did a great job developing these kids, mentally, physically and emotionally. We’ve been in tough situations and at the beginning of the year, we were losing those games. Now we’re winning those games and it’s fun to see them be able to push through those stressful situations and be successful. I think we’re developing the right culture and developing great kids.”
Takahashi credited his team captains — seniors Margarita Jennings, Kaitlyn Barnes and Adri Rosenthal — in helping the team “bond in battle.”
He also said, “Lacie really does a good job carrying the team. When she plays great, we win.”
Valgardson stellar night included bouncing the ball off her head back into play after one of her swings was blocked, leading to a Viking score.
“We’re really coming together as a team,” Valgardson said. “At the beginning we weren’t very good team players. Now we’re playing for our teammates instead of for ourselves.”
Pleasant Grove (15-12), the No. 9 seed, moves on the the 6A second round and will play No. 8 Copper Hills on Thursday at 9 a.m. In the UCCU Center on the campus of Utah Valley University.
