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Skyridge players celebrate after sophomore Kylie Butters (10) served an ace during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge sophomore Kylie Butters hits the ball during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge senior Myka Christensen sets the ball during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge senior Neriah Perez hits the ball past the block during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge senior Elle McCandless (right) and senior Cala Cooper go up for a block during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge head coach Silver Fonua talks to his team during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge senior Isabella Freeman (right) and senior Taylah Kaufusi go up for a block during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge senior Neriah Perez serves the ball during the 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

For the first two sets of the Thursday’s 6A quarterfinal match against No. 8-seeded Mountain Ridge, top-seeded Skyridge was in complete control.

The Falcons allowed just 18 total points in those frames, rolling to the big lead.

But the Sentinels refused to go quietly and battled back in Set 3, eventually taking a 19-15 lead.

“One of the things I talked about in one of our huddles when they were up was that the other team doesn’t care how much you won the other sets by,” Skyridge head coach Silver Fonua said. “It’s irrelevant at that point. We talked about how we had done this before and we’d learned how to come back.”

The Falcons did indeed fight back and led 24-22 — only to see Mountain Ridge respond with three straight points to have a chance to steal the set and prolong the match.

And what a point it was with both teams refusing to give in as the ball went back and forth in one of the longest rallies of the match.

“At first you think about like being smart with the ball,” Falcon senior Tayla Kaufusi said. “But once you get the right pass, the right set, then you just know you have to put it away.”

Skyridge kept pounding away, eventually forcing a double hit to tie things up.

The Falcons then got kills from sophomore Kayla Butters (her 13th of the game) and from senior Cala Cooper (her 13th of the match as well) to finish off the 3-0 sweep over the Sentinels (25-12, 25-6, 27-25).

“That’s the first time that I felt like we were focused and engaged throughout the entire match,” Fonua said. “We’ve had games throughout the season where we’ll win a set, and then we’ll struggle in the next set because I feel like we take the foot off the gas. We’ve been trying to get to this point where we feel like if we win the first set, we win the second set, and we can we keep pushing the gas.”

He felt that even though it was close in the third set, it was because Mountain Ridge picked up its game.

“I felt like they (the Sentinels) just paid better than they did for the first two sets,” Fonua said. “I’m proud of what we did. I felt like they kept the dedication through the three sets.”

Kaufusi also felt like her Skyridge squad did well at taking care of business.

“I feel like we did super-good,” Kaufusi said. “Usually when we’re up by a lot, we kind of play down. I think we did good on staying disciplined and playing our game.”

Fonua, for his part, wouldn’t mind if there wasn’t so much drama at the end.

“When I was on the sideline, it’s a mini heart attack,” Fonua said. “I just knew if we lost that we would go to another set, and that would leave the door open for the other team. The last three points aged me about 10 years but I love our resilience.

Kaufusi was one of the team leaders for the Falcons, finishing with nine kills, three blocks and two digs. Skyridge also got a big game defensively from junior libero Mary Nahinu, who finished with 22 digs including a big save on the long rally in the third.

With the win, the Falcons advance to the 6A semifinals while also avenging their loss to Mountain Ridge last year.

“We’ve been working super-hard,” Kaufusi said. “I know last year Mountain Ridge took Skyridge out, so they wanted some payback. I think that we’re just super excited to be in the Final Four and we’re ready to work our butts off.”

Things went as seeded for Utah Valley’s 6A teams in the second-round matches that started the tournament competition at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday.

In addition to Skyridge’s success, No. 4-seeded Pleasant Grove defeated No. 13 Fremont, 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-10, 25-20) and No. 2-seeded Lone Peak swept No. 15-seeded American Fork, 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-12).

No. 12-seeded Westlake reached the second round, but lost in three sets to No. 5-seeded Corner Canyon, 3-0 (25-6, 25-16, 25-11).

The Vikings played the Chargers in the quarterfinals while the Knights faced either Herriman or Syracuse but both games started late and finished after deadline.