4A Boys Volleyball: Tigers rally in fifth set of finals but fall short to Pine View
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- The Orem boys volleyball team reacts to losing in the fifth set of the 4A state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Ben Hone takes a swing against Pine View in the 4A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- The Orem boys volleyball team accepts the runner-up trophy after losing to Pine View in five sets at the 4A state finals in the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- The Orem boys volleyball team celebrates a point during the 4A boys volleyball state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem boys volleyball coach Bill Sefita, center, watches the action during the 4A state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Lucky Jennings (31) sets the ball during the 4A boys volleyball finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Players on the Orem bench react to a point during the 4A boys volleyball state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- The Orem boys volleyball team forms a huddle during a time out at the 4A state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Will Brown chases ball near the sideline in the 4A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Luke Wolsey, right, takes a swing against Pine View in the 4A boys volleyball state finals on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem boys volleyball fans react during the 4A state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Luke Wolsey (27) and Keanu Calles put up a block against Pine View in the 4A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Will Brown serves the ball during the 4A boys volleyball state finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Lucky Jennings prepares to serve the ball during the 4A boys volleyball finals against Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- College volleyball official Les Calles reacts to a point during the 4A boys volleyball finals between Orem and Pine View at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Drake Eudis (11) and Jack Scribner of Timpanogos prepare for a serve during a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Orem at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem boys volleyball players celebrate a block during a 4A state semifinal match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Jacob Ricks of Timpanogos (29) leads his teammates in celebrating a point during a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Orem at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Spencer Thompson passes the ball during a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
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- Orem’s Jackson Sanders (in black) takes a swing against the Timpanogos block during a 4A boys volleyball state semifinal match at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Trailing No. 3 Pine View 12-7 in the fifth set of the 4A boys state volleyball finals, No. 1 seed Orem looked done.
But the Tigers still had some fight left in them.
Orem rallied to tie the set and fought off a pair of match points to push the score to 15-all. But the Panthers got to match point again at 16-15 and a 50-50 ball at the net fell on the Tigers side to end the match.
Pine View, which knocked off No. 2 Logan in five sets in the semifinals, avenged a loss earlier this season to Orem with a 3-2 victory (25-22, 21-25, 14-25, 25-21, 17-15) for the first 4A boys state championship on Saturday at the UCCU Center.
“It was serve and pass,” Orem coach Bill Sefita said. “It always comes down to that. I told my boys when we first started the season that the game will always start with the serve/pass and if we don’t take care of that early on it’s just going to come and bite us in the butt and that’s what it did. In the fifth set we missed five serves and that cost us.”
After losing the first set, the Tigers powered to a win in the second and rode that momentum to an 11-point victory in Set 3. Orem fell behind early in Set 4 and couldn’t catch Pine View, and the match went to a fifth set.
The Panthers jumped out to a 4-1 advantage and led 10-5 on a kill by Spencer Blackmore. It was 12-7 after one of the Tigers service errors and the Pine View crowd sensed a victory.
Ben Hone and Keanu Calles logged kills and a couple of Panther errors were followed by a Hone serve that caught the back line for an ace to tie the set at 12. But the Tigers couldn’t finish the comeback.
Orem ended the season with a record of 28-4 and came up short of matching the girls program, which won a 4A title in October.
“Hopefully this is just a fire for the seniors,” said Sefita, who coached the girls team to their title. “It’s a way to pave the way in the program for the younger ones who are coming back. Hopefully, we don’t go any lower than this. This will be the standard and we go from here on up.”
Pine View (25-5) was led by the offensive efforts of Blackmore and Kody Campbell as well as a defense that made big plays both at the net and behind the block. The Panthers fell to Orem 2-0 at the Southern Classic in St. George back on March 9. The victory on Saturday ended the Tigers’ 11-match winning streak as well.
Pine View finished the season winning 10 of its final 11 matches.
Calles, who has committed to play at Southern Virginia, and Hone were the main offensive weapons for the Tigers.
Sefita reflected on the first year of boys high school volleyball in Utah.
“It’s been a good journey,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot coaching the girls because that’s what I’ve been doing the past few years. Coming to the boys side, there’s a difference in how you coach and then focusing your efforts in different areas of the game.”
Other tournament action
Timpanogos won twice on Friday, including a reverse sweep of No. 12 Payson (17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-13) to advance to the semifinals.
The first set of the semifinal with Orem was close but the Tigers closed on a run for the 25-21 win. Orem dominated the final two sets, sweeping the T-Wolves for the third time this season in a 25-21, 25-17, 25-8 victory.
In the 3rd-4th place match, No. 2 Logan swept Timpanogos 2-0 (25-16, 25-20). The T-Wolves, seeded No. 13 coming into the tournament, took fourth place.
No. 8 Mountain View, which lost to No. 1 Orem 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-13, 25-20) in the quarterfinals, topped No. 12 Payson 2-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22) in consolation play and took on No. 6 Layton Christian in the 5th-7th place match. The Bruins cruised to a 2-0 victory (25-20, 25-19) to earn fifth place.
No. 19 Provo was swept by No. 3 Pine View 25-14, 25-18, 28-26 in the second round on Friday to drop into the consolation bracket. The Bulldogs defeated No. 11 Park City 2-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21) and No. 10 Murray 2-0 (25-18, 25-20) to advanced to the 6th-8th place match against No. 4 Ridgeline. The Bulldogs took the second set to force a third and deciding frame, but the Riverhawks ended up with a 2-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-16) victory to claim sixth.
