That’s especially true in volleyball, where you could literally play all day to finish a match if you simply keep the ball alive.

Skyridge and American Fork lived that out in real time during the 6A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center Wednesday morning, going extras in the fifth set with neither team giving an inch and extending points into long rallies with incredible effort.

Finally, an American Fork swing went wide at a seventh match point, sending the Skyridge side into celebration in a compelling 3-2 (26-24, 25-16, 22-25, 20-25, 20-18) victory.

“I think this whole tournament we’ve just been talking about belief,” Falcons junior Sienna Kuresa said. “We need every single person on the court, every single person on the bench, to believe. All of us had that little bit of belief that pushed us to the end.”

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

Skyridge moves on to Wednesday’s championship for a rematch with top-seed Corner Canyon, which held off Lone Peak 3- 1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24) in the other semifinal.

The Chargers won last year’s state final against the Falcons in four sets.

“We want revenge so bad,” Kuresa said. “I’m so happy that we get to take that chance.”

No. 2 seed Skyridge beat No. 6 American Fork twice during Region 3 play and won the first two sets in the semifinals. But the Cavemen, behind stellar defensive play and the offensive attack of seniors Macy Melville and Destinie Hampton, roared back to take the next two sets to forth a fifth.

The Cavemen held the momentum and took a 10-6 lead after a Skyridge hitting error, making the upset seem inevitable. The Falcons fought back and tied the score at 13-13 on an ace serve from Emma White.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

AF couldn’t handle White’s next serve, either, setting up match point for Skyridge. Melville’s clever push shot to the corner kept the set going. The Cavemen reached match point three times but Skyridge managed to hold off the end on each occasion. Finally, the Falcons got to 19-18 and won it on the AF hitting error.

“American Fork, they played so well, and they had a great season,” Skyridge coach Taylor Hifo said. “So for us to show up like that, that was awesome. It was a great fight on both sides and AF had just come off a great win (in the quarterfinals) and wanted to beat us. Everyone plays different in state. We just knew we were going to get it done.”

Kuresa topped Skyridge (25-6) with 19 kills. White had 13 kills to go along with a match-high seven aces. Libero Estelle Slaney was fantastic on defense, credited with an incredible total of 37 digs.

“We talked about (Slaney) in the locker room after the game,” Hifo said. “We do ‘shout outs’ and she was digging the fire for us. It’s important that we take those extremely good hits away because it deflates the opponents energy and it creates ours.”

Corner Canyon won both Region 3 matches with Skyridge during the regular season but the Falcons pushed the Chargers to five sets on October 1.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

“We’re just so excited,” Hifo said. “We remember that feeling walking off the court with the loss last year, and we’re just hungry. We’re hungry for it.”

Corner Canyon holds off Lone Peak

The Knights — the only team in the state to beat the Chargers during the regular season — won the first set in the semifinals with five late kills from Ava Burgess and the winner at 26-24 from Chevelle Peters. But it’s tough to keep Corner Canyon’s diverse offense from scoring and their talented trio of Maia Schwalger, Berkleigh Minnick and Majia Mortensen just kept attacking relentlessly.

The Chargers (28-3) won the next two sets but Set 4 was tied at 22 all after a Burgess kill. Corner Canyon eased ahead 24-23 after a Lone Peak attack error and won it on a combo block from Minnick and Mortensen.

Lone Peak powered past American Fork 25-20, 27-25 to claim third place and finish the season 18-11.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

American Fork, which beat the Knights twice during Region 3 play, ended up at 17-12.

5A Semifinals

For the second straight year, Pleasant Grove’s run in the state tournament ended in the semifinals.

The No. 2 seed Vikings were electric in the first set against No. 3 Skyline in the semifinals and won 25-15, but the Eagles took over from there to claim the next three (25-16, 25-15, 25-22) to set up a repeat of the 2025 5A final with Region 6 foe and No. 1 seed Woods Cross.

Trailing 23-16 in the fourth set, Pleasant Grove fought back and closed to 24-22 on a kill from Lexi Brown. The Eagles managed to end the run with a block to finish off the match.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

In the third-place match, third-year school West Field managed its highest finish ever with a 2-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21) victory against Pleasant Grove. In the deciding third set, PG led 14-12 after a Marley McCandless dump attack but couldn’t hold off a final surge from the Longhorns.

Pleasant Grove finished the season at 25-5.

American Fork's Alivia Lemon serves against Skyridge in the 6A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

American Fork's Daci Roberts (2) sets the ball against Skyridge in the 6A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

American Fork's Macy Melville (19) takes a swing against Skyridge in the 5A girls volleyball state semifinals at the UCCU Center on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.