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Tavian Wade of Wasatch consoles teammate Foraker Fisher after a 3-1 loss to Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi senior libero Foraker Fisher is consoled by his family after the Pioneers lost to Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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JJ Serre of Wasatch (35) takes a swing against Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Chase Billeter of Wasatch listens to head coach Mike Wilton after a 3-1 loss to Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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JJ Serre of Wasatch holds up the runner-up trophy after a 3-1 loss to Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The Wasatch student section reacts during the 5A boys volleyball state final against Bountiful at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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JJ Serre of Wasatch (35) reacts after a point in the 5A boys volleyball state final against Bountiful at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Graydon Fleitas of Wasatch takes a swing against Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Tavian Wade of Wasatch serves against Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Wasatch players console each other after a 3-1 loss to Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Chase Billeter of Wasatch takes a swing against Bountiful in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Bountiful's Aidan Sanford (left) takes a swing against the block of Wasatch's Nate Burton (20) and Seth Tate in the 5A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

The Wasatch-Bountiful 5A boys volleyball championship match provided every bit of drama a big-time match could muster.

Especially for the Wasps, fighting for a shot at their first boys volleyball state title.

Count ’em up: A near-perfect banger of a national anthem sung by Wasatch’s Siena Speres (yes, she hit all the high notes). JJ Serre’s trademark windup celebration in turbo-mode. Chase Billeter diving headfirst into the bench after a stray Bountiful attack and ripping open his chin. The worst loss of the season in Set 1 for Wasatch — by a whopping 12 points — only to bounce back with a dominating performance in Set 2.

In the end, though, the Redhawks (29-3) were more consistent and won the 5A title with a 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21) victory on Thursday at Utah Valley’s UCCU Center.

“It was just so hard for us to get our stuff going against them,” Wasatch head coach Mike Wilton said. “They did a good job of keying on our biggest players. We had to struggle and fight for everything. In the end, it was too much for us to handle. Bountiful did a great job executing tonight and we just couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities we were given. It just never felt we were clicking the way we can. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

The two teams exchanged beatings in the first two sets but a win for Bountiful in the third set was the turning point of the match. The two teams producing 14 ties and seven lead changes in the set and a kill from Chase Billeter drew Wasatch even at 21-all. But Bountiful seized the momentum to the end, a kill from Landon Chism and a service ace from Jared Calder making the scored 23-21. Chism put the final swing home for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead for the Redhawks.

Behind the power offensive attack of Chism (14 kills, four aces, two blocks) and Aidan Sanford, Bountiful carried that momentum into the fourth set and edged out to a four-point lead, 17-13, after blocking a Wasatch attack. The Wasps weren’t done yet and managed to tie the set at 19 after a JJ Serre kill and a Redhawks error. Bountiful then took control with a 4-0 run to get to match point at 24-20. A Billeter kill staved off the end for Wasatch but the Redhawks roofed the Wasps next attack for the 25-21 win and the title.

The Bountiful win not only avenged last year’s semifinal loss and a 3-1 loss in Heber earlier this year, it also ended a 22-match Wasatch winning streak, which finished the season 25-2.

Afterward, emotions were raw as Wilton gathered his exhausted and disappointed team in their last huddle of the season.

“I just told them, ‘Thank you,'” he said. “I thanked them for everything they gave over the course of the season and for the privilege of being their coach. The end wasn’t what we hoped for but that’s the risk you take when you put our heart into something. You risk the heartbreak and that’s what we’re experiencing now.”

A group of eight seniors, led by outside hitters Serre and Billeter and setter Nate Burton, all stuck together after finishing as 5A runner-up in 2025 and played on the same club team this summer. That built the chemistry that led the program to the No. 1 seed heading into this year’s 5A tournament.

This is the final year that Heber City will be a one-school town, with Deer Creek High School opening next fall. Wasatch will be looking for a new coach as well, with Wilton announcing after the match he was stepping down.

“I’m stepping aside for somebody else to be able to do it,” he said. “It’s been a great three years. I’m just hurting for them because they are such a special group. They are really talented and fun and just good human beings. That honestly means more to me than anything.

“For me, tonight represents the effort and willingness they had to put in the time to do something special. Hopefully, we made the Heber Valley proud. And for one last year, for Wasatch, we get to put one more trophy in the case.”