Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys volleyball starts new season strong
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
Despite significant graduation losses, the Lehi boys volleyball team has picked up where it left off after finishing third in the 6A state tournament last year. The Pioneers have rolled to a 5-1 record in the first week of matches, all in non-region action.
Mar. 4: Lehi 3, Salem Hills 1
The Pioneers opened at home with a 25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18 victory over the Skyhawks. Just days after appearing in the state basketball semifinals, junior outside hitter Ashton Shewell didn’t show much rust as he led the attack with 23 kills, six aces, three combined blocks, 11 digs and 21 serve-receives.
Lehi’s other All-State returner, junior setter Ty Reynolds, contributed 39 assists. Senior opposite Jonny Dustin added 11 kills, one block, eight digs and 22 serve-receives.
Junior defensive specialist CT Raubenheimer dug seven times and took 20 serve-receives. Junior middle blocker Ben Anderson had three combined blocks.
Mar. 5: Pioneers 3, Spanish Fork 1
On their own court again, the Pioneers were surprised by the Dons in the first set 25-20 but then wrapped up the match with consecutive wins of 25-19, 25-20, 25-21.
Shewell laid down 24 kills to go with three combined blocks, 20 digs and 36 serve-receives. Dustin powered 18 kills and two aces with nine digs, three assists and 20 serve-receives. Junior opposite Marcos Madden added four kills.
Anderson had a big game up front with 10 kills, two solo blocks and two block-assists. Raubenheimer served two aces with nine digs and 12 serve-receives. Reynolds provided two combined blocks and six digs along with his 51 assists.
Mar. 7: Lehi goes 3-1 in Maple Mountain tourney
The Pioneers played four matches in one day at the Maple Mountain Tournament. They opened with a 2-0 win over Springville in the shortened format to start the slate but then fell to Wasatch 2-1 before going on to sweep Davis and Mountain Ridge, each with a 3-0 score.
Lehi won a close game 25-23 to get started over the Red Devils but cleaned up in the second set 25-14. Shewell had 14 kills and 16 serve-receives while Dustin provided eight kills and 13 serve-receives. Senior middle blocker Matekitonga Havea added three combined blocks and Reynolds made 26 assists.
The second match was decided by two points. The Wasps won the first set 25-18, but the Pioneers took the second game 25-23. The deciding set went down to the wire, but Wasatch was able to pull it out 15-13 to claim the match win.
Shewell had 19 kills with 10 digs and 22 serve-receives. Dustin tallied 10 kills with 20 serve-receives and Reynolds dished out 32 assists.
Lehi prevailed over the Darts with an extra-points win in the final set, topping Davis 25-19, 25-17, 18-16. The dynamic hitting duo led the way again, with Dustin getting 13 kills and 23 serve-receives while Shewell had 14 kills and 11 serve-receives. Reynolds posted 41 assists.
In the finale against the Sentinels, it was the middle set that was the biggest challenge, but the Pioneers hung on to prevails 25-21, 26-24, 15-6. Shewell registered 18 kills plus 17 serve-receives. Dustin added nine kills while Anderson chipped in for six kills and four block-assists. Reynolds had 33 assists.
“We have a young team that is anchored by our All-State setter and outside hitter,” said Coach Kolby Shewell. “Ashton is getting his hitting percentage up and Ty is a dynamic setter that can do anything. Jonny Dustin has stepped in this year and is doing great things. He hits really hard.”
The Pioneers are scheduled to play on four consecutive nights this week. They visit Orem on Tuesday (Mar. 10), host Brighton on Wednesday (Mar. 11) followed by Layton on Thursday (Mar. 12) and then travel to Mountain Ridge on Friday (Mar. 13). Varsity matches begin around 6:30 p.m.
