Pleasant Grove girls volleyball takes care of little things to beat Orem
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- The Pleasant Grove girls volleyball team celebrates a point during a high school match against Orem on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Orem’s Sophie Campbell (24) and Madi Scott attempt to block an attack from Pleasant Grove’s Molly Mitchell during a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Avrie Valgardson sets the ball during a girls high school volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- The Orem girls volleyball team celebrates a point during a high school match against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Orem’s Callie Eudis (1) tips the ball over the block of Pleasant Grove’s Addisyn Beck during a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Addisyn Beck serves the ball during a high school girls volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, September 4, 2024.
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- Orem’s Kambri Kuhni takes a swing in a girls high school volleyball match against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove students react during a high school girls volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Orem’s Callie Eudis (1) and Kambri Kuhni put up a block against Pleasant Grove’s Addisyn Beck during a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Orem’s Ashley Scott serves the ball during a high school girls volleyball match against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Addisyn Beck (40) takes a swing during a high school girls volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
When two good high school girls volleyball teams meet on the court, it’s often the little things — and the timing of those little things — that can make the difference.
Pleasant Grove, the top-ranked team in Class 6A, went into problem-solving mode to figure out those little difference makers after the first two sets and took control of Set 3 and 4, earning a 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21) victory against Class 4A’s No. 2 team, Orem, on Tuesday.
“I think we were really disciplined in our blocking and our passing was really good today,” PG senior setter Avrie Valrgardson said. “I think everyone is doing their jobs and are in the right spots at the right time. And we’re really good at leaning on each other, instead of going on our own islands, if that makes sense.”
Valgardson directs a diverse offense — Taytum Nelson, Addi Beck, Aleah McDaniel and Molly Mitchell are all dangerous options — and has even started to step out and take some swings herself, which creates even more problems for opponents.
“Avrie’s been huge on the block,” PG coach Isa Takahashi said. “And she’s super lethal with her arm. She hits about the top of the antenna, which is really fun for us and she’s just a really fun athlete to have in the gym. She’s a great leader with the girls, too.”
Orem had the momentum early in Set 1 but Pleasant Grove found some rhythm and rallied to get close. The Vikings led 20-17 on a kill from Beck but the Tigers pushed back and tied the set at 20-all on a service ace from Ashley Scott. Orem got to set point first at 24-23 but Mitchell’s kill brought PG even at 24.
The Tigers won an impossibly long rally when freshman Madi Scott tooled her hit off the block for a 25-24 lead, but an Orem net violation brought the Vikings even again. Later, a service ace from Kaitlin Stadler gave PG a set point at 27-26 and the Tigers mishandled the ball for the winner and a 28-26 PG victory.
Set 2 was tied at 15 when Orem made a strong move, getting back-to-back kills from Kambri Kuhni to key a 5-0 run. At 24-20, Madi Scott went off the Vikings block for a 25-20 win to tie the match at 1-1.
“We won the first set but I didn’t like the way we played,” Takahashi said. “I just felt like Orem was beating us. We had to make some adjustments and we have to give our girls time to see the game, because every volleyball player is different. You kind of have to start seeing tendencies. We started to take their first swing away and then we were getting their tips.”
Set 3 was all Pleasant Grove, which took and 10-5 lead after scoring five straight points with blocks from Nelson, McDaniel and Valgardson. The lead reached 20-9 after kills by Valgardson and Beck, and McDaniel went off the block at set point for a 25-17 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set turned after Orem tied things at 13-all. A 6-1 run was punctuated with a terrific dig from Cassidy Brinton that set up McDaniel smash and it was 19-14 for the Vikings. Orem rallied and pulled to within 23-21, but Beck’s swing caught the back line for a 24-21 advantage and a PG match point. Valgardson finished things off with an ace.
Orem (3-2) will next be in action next Tuesday against Fremont. Pleasant Grove (6-0) opens Region 3 play with a match at Skyridge.
“We’re in a good place,” Takahashi said. “We still have things where can clean up. I think we make some ‘oopsies,’, like little errors here and there, that shouldn’t happen with how great this team is. It’s fun with them because I’ll sit down and we’ll talk, and the next time they go on the court they make that adjustment. Failing isn’t a bad thing, right? It’s a learning process and these girls learn really fast.”
