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Show PG Lady Spikers Finish Second at State 5A Championships ' r 'j A ; . ' ill i I' ... . .... , ; The Lady Vikings Volleyball Team defended their state title well, only dropping drop-ping the final match against rival Lone Peak High, to finish second at the UHSAA State 5A Tournament at UVU. . mrt. f Bi,..,V; A Photo courtesy or PicMyKid.com by Dean Von Memmott The Pleasant Grove Vikings finished their volleyball season with a second place finish at the State 5A tournament, held at Utah Valley University's McKay Events Center Nov. 5 and 6. That was not bad, considering that Pleasant Grove had sent to this year's tournament a really young team. Nevertheless, it still did well in defending its crown clear to the championship match against arch rival Lone Peak. The match up between the . Lone Peak Knights and Pleasant Grove was a continuation of a tradition that had started shortly after 2000. That tradition was that of the Knights and Vikings facing off for the state championship practically every year. The two schools had begun that tradition back in their 4 A days. In their battle for the state 2009 title, Pleasant Grove defeated the Knights. This year, Pleasant Grove was not even expected to reach the championship final because so many souls were counting on Bingham to contest the Knights for the championship trophy. After the Vikings had brushed aside the Miners in last Saturday afternoon's semifinals in five games, Pleasant Grove Vikings shouted, "We want Lone Peak!" Having bested the Davis Darts in a three-game semifinal, the Knights were itching for their fourth meeting with Pleasant Grove this season. The championship match opened with Viking Anna Jenkinson delivering a kill. Pleasant Grove's control of Game 1 didn't last long. The combined hitting of Whitney Johnson, Anna Hubert and Ashlan Rogers ' enabled Lone Peak to build up a 15-5 lead in a hurry. Kim Dahl led a Viking effort at wiping away the Knights' double-digit lead. However, Pleasant Grove couldn't get any closer than 24-15, because of Whitney Johnson's blocking and hitting. The Vikings served Lone Peak a reminder in the second game that they weren't going to be toast in three games like Davis turned out to be in the semifinals. Even though the game opened with Lone Peak's Kix Adolfo registering a kill, Dahl, Audrey Biggs, and Sydney Johnson orchestrated an effort that gave Pleasant Grove a 4-1 lead. With Dahl as their main muscle, the Vikings stayed ahead all throughout the second game. Lone Peak Coach Deanna Meyer admitted, "We have a lot of respect for Kim Dahl. It was hard for us to guard against her." Another thing that hurt Lone Peak in the second was serving. Meyer said, "We couldn't get our serves in." A string of missed Lone Peak serves gave the Vikings the momentum to win the second game 25-16. Its outcome left fans wondering whether it would take four or five games to decide which school, would take home the 2010 state championship trophy. Through Hubert's serving, a Whitney Johnson kill sent the Knights charging out to a 5-1 lead. At the net, Whitney Johnson and Hayley Huntsman held their own against Dahl and teammate, Delay ne Daniel, at the net, permitting the Knights to build up an 8-3 advantage. Pleasant Grove refused to let Lone Peak pull away easily this time. Through MaKall Hymas' serving, the Vikings battled back within 17-15 on hits from Biggs, Daniel, and Dahl. A Viking hitting error permitted the Knights to keep Pleasant Grove from catching up with them. A Viking service error gave Lone Peak 25-19 win. The fourth game unfolded as a seesaw battle. The two teams battled to a 15-15 draw. Lone Peak broke that tie on a Rogers kill, and the Knights fought tenaciously to stay narrowly ahead throughout the rest of the game. With assistance from Sydney Johnson and Le'o Fotu, Dahl kept Pleasant Grove's championship hopes alive. However, after a Dahl kill had disabled one Knight block, Lone Peak put up another block that ended the match. Asked what she appreciated about this past season, Dahl answered, "My team. They were absolutely awesome." She led Pleasant Grove with 22 kills while Daniel added nine and Jenkinson eight. Pleasant Grove had opened the state tournament through defeating the Fremont Silver Wolves by scores of 22-25 , 25-18,25-23,24-26, 15-10. Fremont's answer to Dahl, Bailey Bateman proved to be an equal match to her and Daniel in all five games of the match. Bateman's hitting enabled the Silverwolves to give Pleasant Grove its closest contest in two weeks. After Pleasant Grove had secured a 2-0 lead on a Dahl kill and a Hymas ace in the first game, Bateman's hitting gave the Silverwolves the momentum to take an 8-6 lead. The game turned into a seesaw fight. A Bateman block of a Dahl kill gave the Silverwolves a 25-22 win. Paced by Jenkinson 's hitting, the Vikings wiped away an early 2-0 lead posted by Fremont in the second game. Through Karen Lloyd's serving, Pleasant Grove secured an 11-3 lead. Even though Bateman and Stephanie . Harris led a strong Fremont comeback, the Vikings still triumphed 25-18. The Vikings also took the third game by a score of 25-18 despite Harris' serving giving Fremont a 3-1 lead. The fourth game was a seesaw fight clear to the final serve when the Silverwolves won on a Viking hitting error. In the fifth game, the two teams battled to an 8-8 draw. A Jenkinson kill tipped the Vikings ahead, and a Lloyd ace gave Pleasant Grove a 15-10 win. After defeating Cottonwood in three games by scores of 25-11, 25-23, 25-14 during action in the quarterfinals, the Vikings collided with the Bingham Miners in a five-game match during last Saturday afternoon's semifinals. Led by Danika Youngblood and Jessica Thompson, the Miners made short work of the Vikings in the first game by a score of 25-13. In the second game, Jenkinson, Dahl, Fotu, and Daniel combined their hitting together to give Pleasant Grove a 25-20 win. When Bingham won the third game 25-20, the Miners appeared destined to appear in the championship match. However, in the fourth game, Dahl held her own against Thompson and Youngblood, enabling Pleasant Grove to win 25-19. In the fifth game, Pleasant Grove took control early, and a Dahl kill gave the Vikings a match point. Of how Pleasant Grove did in the Fremont and Bingham ' matches, Viking Coach Jamie Schapper said, "My girls are fighters. After they lose a first game, they come back strong in the second game. Our girls relied on a lot of heart to get past the schools that they had played so far in the tournament." |