Lehi’s Ashton Shewell making waves in ‘second’ sport
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- Lehi’s Ashton Shewell stretches between sets in a Region 3 boys volleyball match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Lehi boys volleyball coach Kolby Shewell (center) leads a huddle during a time out at a Region 3 match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Lehi’s Ty Reynolds (center) sets the ball during a Region 3 boys volleyball match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- The Lehi boys volleyball team celebrates a point in a Region 3 match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- American Fork’s Max Hale serves the ball in a Region 3 boys volleyball match against Lehi on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- American Fork’s Evan Johnson (8) and Jarrett Santiago put up a block against Lehi’s Ian Wilson during a Region 3 boys volleyball match on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Lehi’s Tyler Olson (25) tips the ball over the net during a Region 3 boys volleyball match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Lehi’s Ashton Shewell (right) celebrates with teammate Santiago Hernandez during Region 3 boys volleyball match against American Fork on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- The American Fork boys volleyball team celebrates a point in a Region 3 match against Lehi on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- American Fork’s Evan Olmstead serves the ball in a Region 3 boys volleyball match against Lehi on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- American Fork’s Smith Littlefield serves the ball in Region 3 boys volleyball match against Lehi on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
There’s no question in the Shewell household that for Ashton Shewell, basketball is No. 1.
But he’s is learning to appreciate volleyball.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore pounded out 20 kills and hit .516 on Tuesday as Lehi, the No. 2 team in 6A RPI, swept American Fork 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 in a Region 3 matchup.
“He loves basketball,” said Kolby Shewell, Ashton’s father and head coach at Lehi. “I really only get him in volleyball for practice. So he’s 90% basketball, 10% volleyball. But he’s having fun.”
When asked what his favorite thing about volleyball was, Ashton Shewell simply answered, “Hitting it.”
He has lots of help in that area from teammates Ian Wilson, Dax Moore, Dylan Avery and Taite Stewart.
There’s plenty of volleyball in his family, with his sister, Avery, playing at Utah Valley University, and his father playing and coaching most of his life. The pace and rhythm of volleyball is a little bit slower for Ashton, but he’s adapting nicely.
“That’s his mentality, is, ‘I have a job to do,'” Kolby Shewell said. “The team is doing a good job of helping him to loosen up. You can see the energy, and that’s helping him just relax and play his game. He’s really so efficient this year. He’s hitting over .400 and as an outside, that’s amazing. He has the confidence of his team and he confidence in his team to take care of business, so all the pressure isn’t on him this year.”
In 2024 – the first year of high school boys volleyball in Utah – the Pioneers struggled to a 5-17 record, 2-8 in Region 3.
“We were horrible,” Ashton Shewell said. “We did not play well. This year, we’re playing more as a team. It really helps having a lot of options. Our whole team, we can set wherever we want and we can put it down.”
Tuesday’s sweep of American Fork was Lehi’s 11th victory against just one loss, to 5A’s top team, Maple Mountain.
“The great thing about it is we have five options every time,” Coach Shewell said. “We’ve just got to get passing going. As long as we can pass the ball, we have an amazing setter (sophomore Ty Reynolds) who’s going to get all of our hitters great looks. As you can see in this game, we had an open net and great swings, all as long as we’ve got good passes.”
American Fork led most of Set 1 on Tuesday, taking an 18-15 advantage on a Lehi error. The Pioneers (11-1 overall, 3-0 Region 3) finally tied things up at 19 after a Reynolds ace and eventually led 21-19. The Cavemen tied things up at 23 on a block from Joao Machado but Lehi scored the final two points, getting a kill from Ashton Shewell and an ace from Wilson for the two-point win.
The Pioneers dominated Set 2, racing to a 16-6 lead on a combo block from Shewell and Wilson. Lehi scored three straight points — a dump attack from Reynolds, a kill from Ben Anderson and a kill from Tyler Olson — to take a 25-16 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Lehi led 16-11 in Set 3 after three straight kills from Shewell followed by his ace serve. American Fork trimmed the deficit to three, 23-20, on a kill by Max Hale and Hale had two more swings for points as the Cavemen (6-9, 0-3) made in 24-22. At match point, Reynolds set Avery on a quick attack for the winner.
Region 3 is loaded again this year, with four teams — Lone Peak at No. 1, Lehi No. 2, Westlake at No. 6 and Pleasant Grove at No. 10 — in the Top 10 RPI.
“We want to improve our defense and our serving,” Coach Shewell said. “We’ve got to be more aggressive at the service line. Our blocking is getting better every game.”
