1 / 13

Mountain View's Toby Smith (16) takes a swing against Timpanogos in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

2 / 13

Mountain View's Adam Maya (10) sets the ball against Timpanogos in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

3 / 13

Joey Hansen of Timpanogos (7) reacts with his teammates after scoring a point against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

4 / 13

Mountain View's Nick Nelson (24) takes a swing against Timpanogos in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

5 / 13

Zaxon Downey of Timpanogos (17) sets a ball against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

6 / 13

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

7 / 13

Joey Hansen of Timpanogos (7) tips the ball over a pair of Mountain View defenders in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

8 / 13

Timpanogos players celebrate an ace serve against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

9 / 13

Mountain View's Braxton Ward serves the ball against Timpanogos in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

10 / 13

Alexander Wright of Timpanogos (10) takes a swing against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

11 / 13

Brig Woahn of Timpanogos serves the ball against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

12 / 13

Landon Lewis of Timpanogos (4) sets the ball against Mountain View in a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

13 / 13

Mountain View and Timpanogos players chat at the net before a Region 8 boys volleyball match on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

When volleyball opponents split the first two sets, the outcome of Set 3 often determines the course of the rest of the match.

That’s what happened on Thursday, when Mountain View persevered through a marathon third set and went on to win its Region 8 match with Timpanogos 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 32-30, 25-20).

“We just had to stay scrappy,” Bruins senior Nick Nelson said. “We were down a lot of points, and we had to fight back. We just had to say, ‘Hey, we might have messed up a couple points ago, but that’s in the past. We’ve got to focus on what’s next.'”

Timpanogos, which had lost six straight matches heading into Thursday, found a good rhythm and recovered from a first set loss to win Set 2, then rode that momentum into the third set. Three straight points — an ace from Grant Osborn, a kill from Brig Woahn and a combo block from Woahn and Zaxon Downey — gave the Timberwolves a commanding 13-7 lead. Timpanogos got to 22-16 after Alexander Wright fired down a kill but Mountain View responded with an 8-1 run — mostly on Timberwolves errors — to get to set point at 24-23.

Timpanogos fought off set point seven times but eventually untimely service errors cost the visitors and the Bruins claimed the 32-30 victory.

Mountain View head coach Jon Fairbanks gave credit to his team’s hard-won experience in making the difference.

“These guys have played varsity, most of them for three years now,” Mountain View head coach Jon Fairbanks said. “They’ve played club together the past two or three years, and there’s no sense of panic. We’ve been down in all sorts of sets all the time, and they just don’t panic. We were down 22-15 and Timpanogos never had a set point in that set, right? It’s a little nerve wracking as a coach, but I’ve watched them, and just have to trust that their talent will come through. And it did.”

Mountain View got out to a 19-13 lead in the fourth set after back-to-back kills from Carson King. The Timberwolves rallied to trail 21-19 but the Bruins closed out the match on a 4-1 run, kills from Nelson and Cohen Tiek finishing things off.

“We’ve always been a pretty good offensive team,” Nelson said. “Our defense has definitely improved the most. We have nine seniors on the team, and most of us have been playing varsity for these three years, sophomore, junior and senior year. So just having that bond together and it definitely helps us play together. We’re getting a lot of wins this season.”

The Bruins were a No. 8 seed in the inaugural boys volleyball season (2024) and finished fifth at the 4A state tournament. Last year, Mountain View was a No. 12 seed but claimed sixth place. When the first boys prep volleyball RPI numbers come out on Saturday, the Bruins should be one of the top 4A teams.

“This year we’ve played Lone Peak, Maple Mountain, Pleasant Grove … we’ve played a bunch of really good teams,” Fairbanks said. “I think this year’s level of play at the top is as high as it’s ever been. There are 10, 15, 20 teams that are really good. And I don’t know that that was the case the first year.”

Timpanogos (9-10 overall, 1-0 Region 8) will travel to Provo on Tuesday. Mountain View (16-5 overall, 1-0 Region 8) has a showdown with defending 4A champion and city rival Orem.