4A Girls Volleyball: Orem tops Crimson Cliffs to earn spot in finals
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- Orem players react to a point in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals against Crimson Cliffs at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Haven Michaelis attacks the ball against Crimson Cliffs in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Scarlett Page gets ready to pass a serve in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Sarah Page fires off a serve in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals against Crimson Cliffs at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Reyn Fuller (12) rises up for a block in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- From left, Orem’s Scarlett Page, Haven Michaelis, Ashley Scott and Madi Scott prepare for a serve from Crimson Cliffs in a 4A state semifinal match at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Players on the Orem bench react during the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals against Crimson Cliffs on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Ashley Scott serves the ball against Crimson Cliffs in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Madi Scott gets ready to swing against Crimson Cliffs in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
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- Orem’s Sarah Page serves the ball against Crimson Cliffs in the 4A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Volleyball being a game of momentum, everything seems easy when you have it.
When you lose it, it’s difficult to get back.
But not impossible.
That’s what top-seeded Orem found out in Tuesday’s semifinal match with No. 5 Crimson Cliffs.
The Tigers won the first set comfortably at the UCCU Center, but the Mustangs got hot and raced to a Set 2 win. Orem responded like the two-time state champions they are, seizing back control on its way to a 3-1 (25-15, 18-25, 25-8, 25-16) victory to earn a spot in the finals.
“I think I’ll give kudos to the girls,” Orem coach Bill Sefita said. “That’s something we work on a lot in practice. We do six on six where one team is down a certain amount of points and they have to figure out how to bounce back.”
The Tigers were cruising in the first set, getting out to a 9-2 lead when Madi Scott tooled her hit off the Crimson Cliffs block. Scott and leading scorer Haven Michaelis took turns pounding down kills and Orem won 25-15.
Just as suddenly, the Mustangs found a good rhythm and started dominating defensively. Crimson Cliffs raced out to a 10-3 lead in the second set and finished with a 25-18 win to tie the match at 1-1.
Orem responded with a dominating start in the third set, a Sarah Page ace giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead. Page started finding middles Callie Eudis and Nicole Webb and the Orem offense was unstoppable. Blocks from Page, Eudis and Scott got the Tigers to the 25-8 victory.
“Our coaches always talk about bouncing back, letting stuff go and just forgetting about our mistakes,” Michaelis said. “They also talk a lot about attitude. It’s really important that we’re good teammates and we’re bringing each other up. So between that second and third set, we really focused on coming out strong, being good teammates and fighting for each other, because we all want to win.”
Scott’s kill gave Orem an 11-8 lead in Set 4. After a series of great defensive pays, the Tigers got another Scott kill for a 17-9 advantage. Senior Alana Kennerly fired off a kill for match point and Page pushed a shot to the corner past the Crimson Cliffs defense for the winner.
“It’s about finding ways that we can hone in with our passing,” Sefita said. “That way we can get our middles involved. That way our offense is not predictable and the defense has to guess where the ball is going to go.”
The Tigers (28-3) played for their third straight 4A state title Tuesday night after the Daily Herald’s deadline, facing No. 2 Desert Hills.
The Thunder needed five sets to earn their semifinal berth, outlasting No. 3 Green Canyon 3-2 (25-11, 25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 15-13).
Monday’s Results
No. 1 seed Orem, No. 4 seed Mountain View and No. 6 seed Provo all cleared second round matches to begin the day.
Orem swept Region 8 foe and No. 14 seed Uintah for the third time this season (25-11, 25-15, 25-15), getting eight kills from Michaelis and seven from Eudis.
Mountain View handled No. 13 Mountain Crest (25-14, 25-17, 25-19) behind a huge game from senior Jaycee Carlson, who posted 16 kills. Provo rode the strong right arm of Nevaeh Magalei, who totaled 23 kills in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-10) victory against No. 11 Pine View.
Orem was in control of its quarterfinal match against No. 9 Hurricane from the start, easing to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-19) victory. Michaelis finished with 13 kills for the Tigers and Reyn Fuller and Madi Scott combined for 15.
Mountain View rolled to victories in the first two sets against No. 5 Crimson Cliffs in their quarterfinal match (25-14, 25-12) but the Mustangs turned things around with defense and a strong block, winning the final three sets 25-19, 25-23, 15-12 to advance to the semifinals against Orem.
Provo took the first set from No. 3 Green Canyon 26-24 but the higher seed steadied itself and won the next three 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 to move on in the tournament.
Tuesday’s Consolation Results
Mountain View recovered from its quarterfinal loss to power past No. 9 Hurricane 2-0 (25-19, 25-17) to earn a spot in the 5th-7th place match against Provo, which got past Ridgeline in three sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-18).
In the 5th-7th place match, the Bulldogs avenged two regular season Region 8 losses to the Bruins with a 2-1 (25-23, 25-19, 26-24) victory. In Set 3, Magalei produced a kill to give Provo a 25-24 lead. Mountain View got a swing but a combo block from Magalei and Lupe Fonohema found the floor for the winning point.
The Bulldogs finished the season with a 20-12 record and Mountain View ended up 22-9.
