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Pleasant Grove's Taytum Nelson (44) takes a swing against Maple Mountain in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain's Olivia Roberts dives for a ball in a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Marley McCandless (18) sets the ball during a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Josslyn Baird (26) and Charlee Daley (10) celebrate a point in a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain volleyball players celebrate a point in a Region 7 match against Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Kaitlin Stadler passes the ball against Maple Mountain in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain's Adison Thornton serves the ball against Pleasant Grove in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove players celebrate a point in a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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A young Pleasant Grove volleyball fan gives five to Kellen Esera at a Region 7 match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Taytum Nelson (left) and Marley McCandless celebrate a point along with teammate Dixie Werner (19) in a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Marley McCandless (18) sets the ball during a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Maple Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain volleyball players celebrate a point in a Region 7 match against Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain's Karli Smith takes a swing against Pleasant Grove in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Molly Mitchell (7) takes a swing against Maple Mountain in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Marli Vaea (11) and Taytum Nelson put up a block against Maple Mountain's Avery Brimhall in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Addie Beck (12) serves the ball against Maple Mountain in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain's Olivia Roberts dives for a ball in a Region 7 girls volleyball match against Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove's Marli Vaea takes a swing against Maple Mountain in a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Pleasant Grove (in blue) and Maple Mountain prepare for a Region 7 girls volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

On Sept. 9 at Spanish Fork, Pleasant Grove won the first two sets against Maple Mountain only to see the home team storm back to win two and force a fifth set. PG took that fifth set 15-11 for a key Region 7 girls volleyball victory.

So when the Vikings won the first two sets and the Golden Eagles claimed Set 3 on Thursday at Pleasant Grove, that feeling of deja vu was clear and present.

This time the Vikings didn’t mess around, dominating Set 4 on their way to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-16) victory.

“We knew they (Maple Mountain) were going to come back, right?” PG coach Isa Takahashi said. “They’re going to battle, they’re going to fight. They’ve got a bunch of kids I’ve coached before (in club volleyball) and they’re just great kids and great players. They’re fighters and I appreciate that they made us better. We had to play a lot better to beat that team. I think they’re going to do well at state and I think we’ll see them there.”

Pleasant Grove put themselves in a good position with a stunning comeback in Set 2. After winning the first set by seven points, the Vikings fell behind early in as Maple Mountain, behind top hitter Karli Smith, came out hot. The Golden Eagles led 8-2 on an Avery Brimhall kill and held a 14-5 advantage after an ace from Hallie Huntsman. A kill by Smith gave Maple Mountain a 23-17 advantage but PG rallied and went on an 8-0 run. Sophomore setter Marley McCandless scored on a an attack, Addie Beck fired off an ace and a pair of Golden Eagle errors allowed the home team to forge a 23-23 tie. Marli Vaea’s attack scored to get the Vikings to set point and junior pin hitter Lexi Brown sent her shot off the Maple Mountain block for the winner and a 2-0 lead in the match.

“We just started bringing more energy on the court,” said 6-foot-6 senior middle blocker Taytum Nelson. “Even if we didn’t score a point, we would find something good to cheer about. If somebody was going off the court or being subbed, whoever came on would bring so much energy and they would hype everyone up. That really flipped it around and made us play better.”

Maple Mountain (17-6 overall, 8-2 Region 7) played well to win Set 3 but it was all Pleasant Grove in the fourth set. Nelson started off with a pair of blocks and her kill pushed the Vikings to a 10-4 lead. The Golden Eagles briefly rallied to close to within 17-12 on a block by Mikayla Esquivel. Brown had three kills as PG surged back to a 22-13 lead and Beck scored the final two points, including a clever roll shot at match point.

“We’ve been focusing on our side, learning from the other side but trying to do our jobs on every single point,” Takahashi said. “We’re not worrying about the score but just giving our max effort on that one play. They’ve been doing that in practice so it’s not a surprise we’re seeing it in games.”

Pleasant Grove has been a traditional Class 6A power, last winning a state title in 2019 and playing for championships in 2021 and 2024. The Vikings dropped down the 5A this season and struggled at the start, opening with a 1-5 record that including four straight losses.

Since that time, PG has compiled a 12-4 mark, is currently 9-1 in Region 7 and risen to No. 7 in Class 5A RPI.

“We have a young squad but super talented and athletic,” Takahashi said. We’ve played some of the toughest teams in the state and we played the No. 4 team in the nation, Marymount (Calif.). Our schedule has been tough, and it shows that when we get into moments like this match. We’ve play tough teams and so it’s easier to handle those moments, because we’ve been there, and we need to continuously have those high pressure moments.”

Nelson is graduating in December and will join Rob Neilson’s Utah State team in January of 2026. Along with senior Molly Mitchell, they form one of the top middle blocker tandems in the state. Beck, Vaea and Brown are dynamic hitters at the pins and McCandless gets better every game in running the offense. Libero Kaitlin Stadler and Dixie Werner’s knuckleball serve all contribute to a team on the rise.

“As a team, I feel like we’ve grown a lot in our passing,” Nelson said. “It’s gotten so much better and so has our serving. We lost a lot of key players from last year, they all graduated. So we’re rebuilding this team and it’s taken a minute. But we getting so good at being a good team and we’re playing so much better.”