Redemption run: Powerful offensive attack leads Orem to 4A boys volleyball title
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- Orem’s Lucky Jennings and his teammates celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem players celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem’s Ben Hone (25) and Luke Wolsey celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem players celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem players celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem players celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Ben Hone holds the state championship trophy as Orem celebrates after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- UHSAA Executive Director Rob Cuff (right) hands the 4A boys volleyball state runner-up trophy to Timpanogos players at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- The Timpanogos boys volleyball team salutes its fans after a 3-0 loss to Orem in the 4A state finals at the UCCU Center on Thursday, may 8, 2025.
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- Orem players celebrate after winning the 4A state championship match against Timpanogos at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem’s Ben Hone (25) attacks against Jared Hansen of Timpanogos in the 4A boys volleyball state championship match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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- Orem’s Lucky Jennings (8) and Luke Wolsey put up a block against Cooper Pope of Timpanogos in the 4A boys volleyball state championship match at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
When the Orem Tigers are in a groove, the offense comes at opponents from all angles.
In the 4A boys volleyball championship match on Thursday, Orem finished off its road to redemption with what coaches like to call a “team effort.”
The No. 1-seeded Tigers lost in a five-set heartbreaker in last year’s 4A final but took the big gold trophy in 2025, sweeping No. 7 and Region 8 foe Timpanogos 25-18, 25-19, 30-28 at the UCCU Center.
Who to stop? There’s the powerful swings of leading hitter Ben Hone, dynamic attacks from middles Aaron Nielsen and Luke Wolsey and kills from outsides Jackson Sanders and Aaron Maya. Even setter Lucky Jennings gets into the act and Treyvon Cly logged more than 100 kills before his conversion to libero.
There are plenty of options for Jennings to choose from and that diversity was on full display in the 4A final.
“I think for us, we have the manpower to do it so it’s just finding ways that we can trust our hitters to go up and have competitive swings,” Orem coach Bill Sefita said. “Instead of tip-toeing around the ball or tipping it, just go up there to swing with your heart.”
Nielsen, who led the Tigers with 13 kills, said, “It feels amazing. I mean, after last year, my main goal in life was just to win state this year. And I think we worked really hard and we put everything out there.”
Nielson posted five kills in the first set, including the winner on a nice feed from Jennings at 25-18. Set 2 was tied 10 times, including at 17 after a Cooper Pope kill for Timpanogos. Hone smashed a kill then teamed up with Neilsen for a block and a 21-18 lead. Orem scored the final four points of the set, which featured kills from Nielsen and Maya, then a block team up from Neilsen and Maya for the game winner at 25-19.
Timpanogos made a big push in Set 3. Pope had three kills early and the T-Wolves led 10-5 after an Orem hitting error. The Tigers took the lead back at 14-13 on an ace by Wolsey and the set went back and forth from there. Timpanogos tied things up at 21-all but Orem scored the next three points, getting a pair of kills from Wolsey, to reach championship point at 24-21. The T-Wolves fired back with four straight points led by a kill from Pope and an Orem error to take a 25-24 lead. The Tigers showed their mettle by fighting off set point four times.
Fittingly, a kill from Nielsen tied things up at 28 and after a hitting error from Timpanogos made it championship point again, Wolsey ended the night with a kill and the title was Orem’s to celebrate.
“We really had to focus on getting the passes and using the middles in the third set,” Hone said. “A lot of it was thinking about winning as a recipe and we have to be able to get all the ingredients into the recipe so we can come out with the W.”
Hone added 11 kills, Wolsey had six kills and six block assists, Maya scored five kills and Sanders four.
Sefita said he told his players not to focus on last year’s tough loss but the motivation was still there to change the outcome this time around.
“It hurt to lose last year,” Hone said. “I went through so many days of just regretting and saying I could have done things differently. That really helped, so that this year I could come back and be able to just give my all more and be able to feel so much better when I actually win it. Because last year wouldn’t have meant as much if I didn’t have to go through the loss.”
Timpanogos (15-10) was disappointed but encouraged by its late season run to the runner-up spot.
“The first set it looked like we had some jitters playing at this level and with this pressure,” T-Wolves coach Jared Stark said. “It was hard to get out of that. At the end of the day, we were playing against an incredible team with one of the most varied offenses that I’ve seen the entire season, 4A through 6A. Their middles are amazing. Their outsides are incredible and their setter is an attacker. They just vary it really well and that’s really hard to get a good grip on from a blocking and defensive standpoint. They really kept us on our heels.”
Pope led Timpanogos with 15 kills in his final high school performance and Jared Hansen added eight.
“This is one of those bittersweet things because we had the taste of beating the team we wanted to beat,” Stark said. “Orem beat us twice in region. But it’s awesome to take second, especially coming into the tournament the seventh seed. A lot of people didn’t expect that. Our kids have nothing to hang their heads about. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Orem (25-6) finished the season winning 16 of its final 18 matches, with the two losses coming to 6A teams Riverton and Corner Canyon.”It wasn’t a pretty season,” Sefita admitted. “We had a lot of adversity and that kind of hit us, but we asked the boys to continue to chip away one day at a time. We had a certain goal to win region and we did that. Our next goal was taking state. We were able to do that today dominating in three sets. The last set went longer but if its not one of those thing where it keeps you on the edge your seat, then it’s not a state championship match.”
Setita also coached the Orem girls volleyball team to its second straight state title in October.
“This team really worked hard to bond together,” Nielsen said. “We had three people quit this season and that was hard but we really just worked really hard and did a lot of activities together.”
His celebration plans?
“I think I’m going to get Mo’ Bettas and some gelato,” Nielsen said.
In other tournament action, No. 5 Payson punched above its weight and rebounded from its semifinal loss by defeating No. 3 Desert Hills 2-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19) to claim third place.
No. 12 Mountain View kept the Region 8 momentum going by beating No. 10 Pine View 2-0 (25-16, 25-21) to finish in 6th place.
