Lehi Sports
Pioneer spikers fall to Cavemen in first playoff match
In the first round of the 6A state tournament Tuesday evening (Nov. 5), the No. 17 Lehi girls volleyball team went on the road to face Region 3 rival No. 16 American Fork and the Cavemen prevailed 3-1 to advance in the tournament while the Pioneers finished the year with a 7-15 record.
In Tuesday’s tilt, American Fork got rolling quickly and scored eight straight points before Lehi made one. The visitors rallied though and got as close as three points before the Cavemenclosed out the set 25-21.
Game 2 went back and forth for quite a stretch at the start with multiple ties, but American Fork started to slowly pull away in the middle teens and secured the set win 25-19.
Lehi got the early advantage in Set 3 as senior libero Kamree Mills opened with an ace. However, the Cavemen soon drew even and once again the teams traded points for multiple ties.
Lehi began to pick up steam once the score went into double digits after freshman outside hitter Aftyn Hurst served for four straight points including an ace and the Pioneers pulled away for a 25-16 victory.
In Game 4, American Fork went right back to work and racked up five straight points for a lead the Cavemen would never relinquish. Lehi continued to battle and drew within two points, but American Fork earned a 25-16 set victory to close out the match.
“Things didn’t fall our way tonight, but we have so much to build on,” said Pioneer Coach Alise Bowles. “I’m super-excited for the future. Our seniors did a great job of setting the foundation for success.”
Against the Cavemen, freshman outside hitter Aliya Shewell tallied 10 kills and 25 serve-receives while senior outside hitter Bella Loftin added eight kills and three aces along with two solo plus three combined blocks.
Hurst finished with three aces and junior middle hitter Brooklyn Toone made five block-assists. Senior libero Abbi Winters had 11 digs and 11 serve-receives and senior libero Kamree Mills contributed seven digs and 10 serve-receives. Junior setter Savannah Morehead made seven digs and 27 assists.
After a few days of reflection, Bowles offered some further perspectives on the year. “The 2024 season was a great start to a new era of Lehi volleyball,” she said. “We had four seniors that contributed to establishing a new culture at Lehi. This season also had a huge surge of 15 freshmen for the program.
“Aliya Shewell made an immediate impact from the beginning of the season and finished with138 kills, 37 aces, 11 blocks, 167 digs and 329 serve-receives,” she continued.
“Aftyn Hurst would find her way into the rotation by being a serving specialist, ending the season with 10 aces and 3 errors on 72 attempts with a serve percentage of 95.8. Bella Loftin would end the year with 169 kills, 31 Aces, 28 total blocks and 99 digs.
“Junior middle hitter Brooklyn Toone made 22 solo and 41 total blocks to lead the team,” Bowles went on. “Junior middle hitterAbryannah Mama had 29 combined blocks.
“Kam Mills and Abbi Winters battled it out for the libero position. Kam put up 213 digs, 18 aces and 222 serve-receives while Abbi would put up 249 digs, 24 aces and 351 serve-receives,” she said.
“Savannah Morehead would lead the way from the setter’s position and ended the season with 260 assists and 98 digs. Halle Bingham (So.) made 101 assists and Violet Betham (So.) would also add 87 assists to the totals,” the coach added.
“While the season’s progress isn’t reflected in the wins and losses category, this season was very successful from the angle of building a new foundation for the future,” Bowles said.
“The future is very bright at Lehi and we are ready to compete and move forward. Our girls are hungry and ready and our coaching is looking to improve and be ready to come back for a new season next year,” the coach concluded.
