Skyridge surges in fifth set to top Pleasant Grove in Region 3 showdown
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- Mary Nahinu, 19, of Skyridge celebrates with teammates during a high school girls volleyball match with Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Kaitlyn Barnes, 14, tips the ball over the Skyridge block during a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Avrie Valgardson, 2, reacts with her teammates after scoring a point in a high school girls volleyball match with Skyridge on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Skyridge players (from left) Aily Ostuji, Olivia McPhie and Lucci Unga gather in a time out during a high school girls volleyball match with Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Mary Nahinu of Skyridge prepares to serve in a high school girls volleyball match against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Cala Cooper of Skyridge, left, takes a swing against the Pleasant Grove block during a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Hannah Olsen serves in a high school girls volleyball match against Skyridge on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Skyridge senior Taylah Kaufusi swings against the block of Pleasant Grove’s Lauren Waters, 3, and Avrie Valgardson during a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Avrie Valgardson wears pink ribbons in her hair for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in a girls high school volleyball match against Skyridge on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- The Skyridge volleyball team celebrates a point during a high school girls volleyball match with Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- The Pleasant Grove girls volleyball team celebrates a point during a high school girls match with Skyridge on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Cassidy Brinton serves against Skyridge in a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Skyridge, the No. 1 RPI team in Class 6A girls volleyball, had posted a 17-0 record coming into Tuesday’s Region 3 matchup with Pleasant Grove, having won 51 of 54 sets and winning all 12 in four region wins.
Pleasant Grove (No. 3 RPI) had won nine of its past 10 matches, including a win against Lone Peak, the only loss to a Utah team for the Knights.
Not surprisingly, Tuesday’s event in Lehi was a classic.
Skyridge won the first meeting between the two schools last month in a sweep, but this one was a much more competitive match. In the fifth set, Falcons senior Taylah Kaufusi did what seniors often do and took over, smashing six timely kills to keep her team on top. Kaufusi had three straight kills for Skyridge to get to match point at 14-11, and Kylie Buttars served proved too hot to handle for the winner in a 3-2 victory (25-21, 17-25, 13-25, 25-19, 15-11).
“We needed some fire and energy in there,” Falcons coach Silver Fonua said. “Taylah came in there and took a couple of big swings, which is what she’s done for us all season. She broke a slump that we were in those first two sets and I think that energized the rest of the team.”
Skyridge and Pleasant Grove battled through the first set tied at 15 when Elle McCandless got a kill for the Falcons for a 16-15 advantage. That turned the momentum to the home team, which scored five straight in a run that pushed their lead to 20-15. PG crawled back to within two, 22-20, on an service ace from Kaitlyn Barnes. Skyridge pushed the lead to 24-20 and won it on a kill by Isabella Freeman.
Pleasant Grove started to get into a good offensive groove in Set 2, taking an 18-14 lead on a big play at the net by setter Avrie Valgardson. A long rally tested both teams before Taytum Nelson pounded down an overpass for a 22-17 Vikings lead. An ace from Valgardson got PG to set point at 24-17 and Nelson’s kill won it, tying the match at one set each.
Pleasant Grove dominated Set 3 with tough serving that kept Skyridge out of system. An ace from Barnes made it 13-8 and a tandem block by Valgardson and Lauren Waters got the visitors to a 19-12 advantage. Waters took over the end of set, serving three straight aces and getting the winning kill at set point for the 25-13 victory.
Pleasant Grove had all the momentum and Skyridge had to figure out how to get it back.
“We talk a lot about learning how to reset,” Fonua said. “You prior set should never dictate the next set. We lost that second and third set and we looked like we were going to a funeral. We looked like we’d never lost a set. Mentally, we had to get prepared for the fourth set. When it happened, we said, OK, what are we going to do to respond? I thought the girls did a great job. We stayed disciplined and stuck to the game plan. We were going to double block on the outside, pass well and then we’re going to have to leave it up to our big hitters.”
Skyridge got control in Set 4, leading 8-5 early on. The Falcons edged out to a lead and built on it, taking a 20-15 advantage on a kill from Buttars. Kaufusi got the final two kills for the 25-19 win to force the fifth and deciding set.
Skyridge (18-0, 5-0 Region 3) will play at Lone Peak on Monday, a make-up date for a match canceled last week due to a COVID-19 issue.
Pleasant Grove (14-4, 4-2 Region 3) travels to Eagle, Idaho, for a tournament this weekend.
