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Lehi players hold aloft the 6A boys volleyball state championship trophy after beating Bingham 3-2 at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Ashton Shewell takes a swing against Bingham in the 6A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Lehi players pose with the 6A boys volleyball state championship trophy after beating Bingham 3-2 at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Ashton Shewell reacts after the final point in a 3-2 victory against Bingham in the 6A boys volleyball final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Rigden Hansen (13) and a teammate celebrate winning the 6A boys volleyball state championship at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Jonny Dustin takes a swing against Bingham in the 6A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Lehi's Ashton Shewell takes a swing against Bingham in the 6A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Lehi head coach Kolby Shewell (left) and his son, junior Ashton Shewell, pose for a photo with the 6A boys volleyball state championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi boys volleyball coach Kolby Shewell greets his team during a time out in the 6A state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi boys volleyball fans react during the 6A state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Ashton Shewell takes a swing against Bingham in the 6A boys volleyball state final at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Lehi players react after a point in the 6A boys volleyball state final against Bingham at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi boys volleyball fans react during the 6A state final against Bingham at the UCCU Center on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

Ashton Shewell called it the “flow state,” and when Lehi got into that groove, Bingham didn’t stand a chance.

The top-seeded Pioneers unleashed a devastating 17-2 run in a fourth set rout, then held that momentum into the fifth set in taking down the defending state champion Miners 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 15-11) in the 6A boys volleyball state final at Utah Valley’s UCCU Center on Thursday.

Shewell is a young man of jaw-dropping ability — he’s a 20-points-per-game scorer in basketball, leads the state in kills and had 25 in the final — and few words, but he chose the right ones when asked about Lehi’s impressive finish.

“We were in flow state,” Shewell said. “We could not have not missed. I can’t explain it. It was just perfect.”

Teammate Jonny Dustin, a gregarious import from Las Vegas, used a lot of words to describe what happened in front of a stunned crowd at the UCCU Center.

“It was such a beautiful connection and beautiful chemistry between us,” Dustin said. “On the other side, they were getting mad at each other. That’s not how you win. I knew we were gonna win. I don’t want to sound egotistical, but I just I knew the way we play together and the way we have the connection, no one was going to stop us. But I was so tired. Everyone was so tired, and we just started to scrape through it.”

To set the scene, Bingham (26-3) won the first and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Shewell’s dynamite performance in a Set 2 victory (10 kills) kept Lehi in the running.

Tied at 5-5 in Set 4, something amazing happened, equal parts dazzling skill and some kind of voodoo magic. Senior Kyson Ririe had six kills and the Pioneers turned away every Bingham attack, converting that 5-5 tie into an astonishing 22-7 lead.

To do that in the 6A finals against a team as good as the Miners was simply breathtaking.

“These guys are known for how well they play when they’re on fire and when they’re on fire, they are hard to stop,” Pioneers head coach Kolby Shewell said. “We were getting digs we weren’t getting before and every single player was putting the ball away. They knew what to do and they did it. I’m so proud of them.”

Lehi eventually won Set 4 25-13 to force a fifth set and Shewell got them off to a great start with two kills and a block. A service ace from Ririe made the score 4-0 and the closest Bingham could get the rest of the way was two points, the final time at 12-10. Thomas Wood went off the block to get to championship point at 14-11 and a long rally finally ended with Ben Anderson pounding the ball to the floor to bring the gold trophy to the Pioneers.

Shewell was everywhere for Lehi (26-2), picking up 20 digs to go along with his big offensive game. Dustin contributed 17 kills with Ririe and Wood adding 12 kills each. Junior setter Ty Reynolds finished with 65 assists and 13 digs.

“I feel fantastic,” Dustin said. “I’ve been praying for this moment forever, dude. I just knew it was good through the Lord. After we started with some contention I said, ‘Bring it in right now. Mid-game prayer.’ It turned around. We played with love. We showed love to the other team and our own teammates. We love and learn anything is possible. I came here out of the blue. I lived in Vegas and just randomly moved. The Lord put me in the right spot so I could build these friends, build these relationships and make a family of my own.”

With Shewell, Reynolds, Wood and Anderson all returning next season, the Pioneers could be looking at a repeat performance.

First, though, the celebration.

“We’re going to party until midnight,” Shewell said. “But we still have school in the morning, though. I wish it was a Friday night.”