In the jungle: Orem girls volleyball rides fast start to 3-1 victory against Lone Peak
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- Orem’s Haven Michaelis (15) celebrates with teammates after a 3-1 victory against Lone Peak in a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Orem’s Haven Michaelis (15) takes a swing against Lone Peak in a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Lone Peak’s Alexa Warner (99) dives on the floor during a girls high school volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, Sept 2, 2025.
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- Orem girls volleyball fans use paper plates as fans during a match against Lone Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Orem’s Madi Scott (3) serves the ball during a high school girls volleyball match against Lone Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Orem’s Nicole Webb (18) takes a swing against Lone Peak in a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Lone Peak Ava Burgess serves the ball against Orem in a high school girls volleyball match on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- An official points out an infraction for Lone Peak coach Casey Adams during a girls high school volleyball match against Orem on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Orem’s Sarah Page sets the ball during a girls high school volleyball match against Lone Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- The Orem girls volleyball team celebrates an ace during a match against Lone Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Members of the Orem girls volleyball team during introductions before a match against Lone Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
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- Lone Peak’s Madi Rich (6) tips the ball over the Orem block in a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
During athletic events at the Orem Fieldhouse — also known as the “Tiger’s Den” — the song “Welcome to the Jungle” is played during the introduction of the starting lineups.
The jungle can be inhospitable and full of dangers. As the Lone Peak girls volleyball team found out on Tuesday, the jungle can also be hot, humid and a difficult place to find success.
The air conditioning was out in the Fieldhouse and the Tigers were roaring, dominating the first set on their way to a 3-1 (25-10, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22) victory against the Knights.
Several industrial-sized fans were brought into the building to help with the heat but both teams battled through the adversity for a competitive and high-level volleyball match.
“Yesterday in practice it was a little hotter than usual,” Orem senior setter Sarah Page said. “We were kind of complaining about the how the air conditioning was out and how hot it was, but our coaches reminded us that excuses don’t make us better and even though we’re playing in the heat, it doesn’t keep us from playing our best.”
It was a battle of two of the best programs in the state — Lone Peak has won five straight 6A titles, Orem has claimed the past two 4A crowns — and the Tigers prevailed in their biggest win of the season.
“For us it was just focusing a lot on the controllables,” Orem coach Bill Sefita said. “One of things we’ve been telling the girls is instead of looking at what we aren’t doing we should be asking what can we do? We want to be focusing on a strength-based approach, because I think that helps us improve our confidence. And then we just want to let our girls play.”
Orem (6-1) raced to a big win in Set 1, keeping Lone Peak off-balance with some crafty attacks. Scarlett Page served three straight aces and Haven Michaelis threw up a solo block as the Tigers took a 13-2 lead and were never caught. Madi Scott blasted a kill for a 23-9 lead and a pair of Lone Peak errors gave Orem the 25-10 win.
The Knights (4-2) came back strong in Set 2 and the score was close throughout. Tied at 23, Ava Burgess got a key block followed by an Orem hitting error, and Lone Peak evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory.
Set 3 was tied at 15 when Orem made its move. Michaelis hammered a kill to start a 5-0 run which included a tandem block from Callie Eudis and Alana Kennerly. At 24-19, Sarah Page got the set winner on a dump attack and the Tigers led the match 2-1.
Orem led 21-16 in Set 4 on a Madi Scott kill but Lone Peak rallied to tie things up at 21. At 22-all, the Tigers scored the final three points with a pair of Michaelis kills and Sarah Page’s ace for the 25-22 win and the match.
Michaelis paced Orem with 16 kills and Scott added 14. Scarlett Page contributed four aces and Eudis had three block assists and one solo block.
The Tigers only loss of the season came in Aug. 19 to another 6A power, Skyridge.
“I think the loss to Skyridge really opened our eyes about the potential of the team,” Sefita said. “We talked about this in our huddles, that our team hasn’t reached our potential yet and we are still on our way to exploring that potential.”
“One of the quotes from the Champion Mind book, it says you are either too busy making excuses or you’re too busy making progress. You can’t be both, so that’s what we’ve been reminding our girls.”
Sarah Page added: “For this one, I feel like we really wanted it more than we did with Skyridge. It was our goal at the beginning of the season to beat Lone Peak and we did that. We really brought it this time.”
