Worthy of the trophy: Pleasant Grove wins 6A boys title with four-set victory against Lone Peak
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- Pleasant Grove’s Ethan Hillyard holds up the 6A boys volleyball state championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Pleasant Grove volleyball team poses with the 6A state championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Pleasant Grove boys volleyball team celebrates winning the 6A state title with a win against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove boys volleyball coach Dave Neeley smiles at championship point during the 6A state finals against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove players celebrate with the 6A boys volleyball state championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Lone Peak boys volleyball team holds up the runner-up trophy after finishing second to Pleasant Grove in the 6A state tournament at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Members of the Lone Peak boys volleyball team celebrate a point during a 6A state semifinals match against Skyridge at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove trainer Joce Walk, center, gives a “thumbs up” after checking on Brayden Thomas, who was hit in the head with a volleyball during the 6A boys state finals at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Lone Peak fans react to the action on the court during a 6A boys volleyball state semifinals match against Skyridge at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Members of the Lone Peak boys volleyball team react to a point during a 6A state semifinals match against Skyridge at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Lone Peak’s Easton Read sets the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state semifinals match against Skyridge at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Lone Peak boys volleyball team celebrates a point during the 6A state championship match against Pleasant Grove at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove boys volleyball fans celebrate a victory against Syracuse in the 6A state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Ethan Hillyard reaches for the ball during the 6A boys volleyball state finals against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Ethan Hillyard, right, sets the ball to teammate Aki Malietoa during the 6A boys volleyball state championship match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Lone Peak’s Adam Cave takes a swing against Pleasant Grove in the 6A boys volleyball state championship game at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Members of the Skyridge boys volleyball team react to a point during a 6A state semifinals match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Players on the Lone Peak bench react to a point during a 6A boys volleyball state semifinals match against Skyridge at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Lone Peak’s Brady Holt, right, is greeted by teammate Trevor Allen after scoring a point during the 6A boys volleyball state championship match against Pleasant Grove at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Skyridge fans react to the action on the court in a 6A boys volleyball state semifinals match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Pleasant Grove boys volleyball team celebrates a point during the 6A state championship match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Lone Peak volleyball fans react during the 6A state championship match against Pleasant Grove at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Devin Willits of Skyridge serves the ball during a 6A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- The Lone Peak boys volleyball team celebrates a block in the 6A state finals against Pleasant Grove at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Isaac Leavitt of Skyridge, left, tries to tip over the Lone Peak block during a 6A boys volleyball state semifinals match at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove boys volleyball fans react during the 6A state championship match against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
When Pleasant Grove’s Ethan Hillyard won a state title with his club team two years ago, all he got was a crummy medal.
On Saturday, Hillyard was holding a huge state championship trophy and beaming from ear to ear.
“I mean, this is better, to be honest,” Hillyard said.
Hillyard and his Vikings teammates stormed past Lone Peak in four sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15) at the UCCU Center to claim the first 6A boys volleyball state title in Utah.
“We made history here,” senior Tyson Jarvis said.
No. 3 seed Pleasant Grove seized their moment with a balanced offense, a much-improved defense and a flurry of aces that set Lone Peak on its heels in the deciding Set 4.
“I’m not naming names, but we were told our defense sucked before we played Copper Hills (in the second round),” Hillyard said. “I think our defense killed, especially Brayden (Thomas). He laid out his body multiple times. Our defense is really good. And our energy was crazy. All our voices are gone but this is awesome.”
The two teams split their Region 3 matchups, each winning 3-1 on their home courts. After splitting the first two sets on Saturday, the momentum flowed to the Pleasant Grove side of the floor and there didn’t appear to be anything the Knights could do to get it back.
An ace from Weston Johanson got the Vikings started on a 6-1 run that allowed them to take control of Set 3. Hillyard, who directed a potent offense from his setter position, got a kill, then teamed up with Kenadi Lee for a block. Lee smashed a pair of kills and suddenly PG led 15-9. A 5-1 blitz near the end of the set, ending with a big attack from Jarvis, won the set at 25-18 and gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead in the match.
Lee was lethal at the service line in Set 4, firing off seven aces as the Pleasant Grove lead grew to 21-10 and started the celebration for the team and Viking fans.
Pleasant Grove coach Dave Neeley finished as a runner-up three straight seasons coaching the Mountain View girls volleyball program, so winning on Saturday was especially sweet for him.
“The goal is always to just get as far as we can,” he said. “These guys responded so well this weekend. They just decided they were going to get the defense fixed. We got a lot of digs this morning. We got a lot of digs tonight.”
Neeley said a meeting during their trip to a California tournament last month lit a fire under his team. When they came back the Vikings lost to Skyridge but won ten straight matches to finish the season.
“We’ve made some tweaks to our offense over the past couple of months, so we probably threw some things at Lone Peak that they weren’t quite ready for,” Neeley said. “They blocked us a lot. And when we get blocked a lot we say, ‘Just keep just doing what we do. Don’t change what we’re doing.’ So we did, we just kept swinging hard, and just really caught fire there offensively in Set 3.”
Jarvis finished with 14 kills to lead Pleasant Grove (27-5) but had plenty of help from Lee and Johanson (10 kills each) and Hillyard (eight kills).
“I think this was the best we’ve played,” Jarvis said. “We just wanted it more. We came to play. I think our energy was high the whole time. We didn’t get our heads get down. We just cut off their runs. Everyone on the team put so much effort into improving. Boys volleyball has been at an insane level ever since we started at the beginning of the season.”
Other 6A results
In an all-Region 3 semifinal, Lone Peak held off a strong effort from No. 9 Skyridge for a 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19) victory.
The Knights won the first two sets but the Falcons took control late in Set 3 on a block from Devin Willits and Trey Mahe for a 24-20 lead. At set point, Alexander Caldwell tooled his hit off the block for a 25-22 win to force Set 4.
Lone Peak grabbed an 19-15 lead in the fourth set after a kill from Freddy Dayton and rode that lead to the end. A Skyridge error gave the Knights match point and Easton Read fired off an ace to send his team to the finals.
Pleasant Grove also won the first two sets against No. 7 Syracuse in the other semifinal before the Titans recovered with a win in Set 3. In the fourth set, the Vikings got a kill from Jarvis and a combo block from Lee and Aki Mailetoa for a 21-18 lead. Johanson powered his hit through the Syracuse block at set point for a 25-23 victory to push his team into the finals.
Skyridge earned third place with a 2-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-23) victory against No. 7 Syracuse.
