Lehi Sports
Falcon spikers finish 7th at State
The No. 7 Skyridge girls volleyball team went 2-2 at the 6A state tournament, advancing to the placement round and finishing seventh, exactly where they were seeded entering the postseason.
The Falcons earned a bye in the first round and played all of their tournament matches at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Events Center.
Nov. 7: Skyridge 3, No. 10 Copper Hills 0
The Falcons made a strong start in the playoffs with a sweep of the Grizzlies (15-17), but it wasn’t easy. Skyridge had to work really hard to prevail in the first two sets and the second onewent to extra points, but the Falcons pulled out the match 25-23, 28-26, 25-14.
Junior outside hitter Kylie Buttars had a stellar outing with 11kills, five aces, two solo blocks, 10 digs and 18 serve-receives.
Senior outside hitter Kelsey Christensen added nine kills, junior right side Hadyn Smith contributed seven kills and sophomore outside hitter Sienna Kuresa had five.
Junior setter Lily Grant served two aces and made 14 assists while senior libero Mary Nahinu added 16 digs and 10 serve-receives. Senior setter Kamorah Unga made seven digs and 16assists.
Nov. 7: No. 2 Lone Peak 3, Skyridge 1
The Falcons battled hard throughout in the quarterfinal against the eventual state champion Knights (29-3). Lone Peak won the first two games 25-21, 25-18.
The Falcons rallied in the third set and earned a 25-23 win, but couldn’t find quite enough against the powerful Knights in the fourth game and Lone Peak closed out the match 25-22 to drop the Falcons into the consolation bracket.
Buttars attacked with 18 kills plus two aces and also had 16 serve-receives. Kuresa posted 13 kills and Christensen had eight. Smith had a big night at the net with two solo blocks and three block-assists. Junior middle hitter Thaili Mataele added three combined blocks.
Unga registered two aces with six digs and 14 assists while Grant had eight digs and 17 assists. Nahinu made seven digs and had a productive outing on the court with 35 serve-receives and senior libero Tiana Mariner took 17 serve-receives.
Nov. 8: Skyridge 2, No. 6 Bingham 1
In the best-of-3 format, the Falcons won the first set against the Miners 25-20, lost the second game 18-25, but bounced back to pocket the third set 25-19 in a statistical upset to eliminate Bingham and move forward to the 5th-7th placement match.
Buttars made 14 kills and two aces and Christensen had 10 kills. Grant served two aces with nine assists. Nahinu added 16 digs and 12 serve-receives while Mariner had 12 digs and 15 serve-receives. Unga had 12 assists and junior setter Keira Bassettcontributed eight gives.
Nov. 8: No. 5 Syracuse 2, Skyridge 1
This was a close, exciting contest from start to finish. The teams split the first two sets as the Titans got the first one 25-22 and the Falcons responded with a 25-21 victory. The third game was a battle which went through seven extra points, but Syracuse held on to win 29-27.
Buttars posted 14 kills and two aces plus 14 serve-receives to close out her great year. Christensen had eight kills while Smith and sophomore outside hitter Emma White made five apiece.
Nahinu served three aces to go with 15 digs and 13 serve receives. Mariner tallied two aces, 17 digs and 12 serve-receives. In the assist category, Unga had 14, Bassett 10 and Grant eight.
The Falcons finished the season with a 20-12 overall record.
“We came into the season with a young team in terms of varsity experience,” said Coach Silver Fonua. “With so many seniors graduating last year, it took a few games to figure out our identity and build chemistry. The team progressively got better through the season.
“Through some tough losses, we also had some solid wins at tournaments,” the coach continued. “I thought we competed well in our region, which is the toughest volleyball region in the state. We peaked at the right time entering State but playing Lone Peak in the second round is a tall order.
“Playing a seasoned Bingham team and a young talented Syracuse squad was a great way to end our season,” Fonua said. “I am proud of the work the girls and my assistant coaches put in along with the time and sacrifices to make our year the best we could.
“Skyridge has the best fan base and we are proud to represent our school and the city of Lehi,” the coach concluded.
