Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys surpass milestone volleyball marks
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
This is only the third season for boys volleyball as a UHSAA-sanctioned sport in Utah, but already a pair of Lehi High School players have achieved career-best records which will become part of the state’s official archives.
Pioneer junior outside hitter Ashton Shewell passed the 1,000-kill threshold and junior setter Ty Reynolds has put up more than 2,000 assists. They reached these milestones playing on the road but were honored on Wednesday (Mar. 18) for their achievements prior to a home match.
“I’m really proud of both of these boys,” said Lehi Coach Kolby Shewell. “They have worked so hard and have been the heart of Lehi Boys Volleyball since it became a high school sport.
“For them both to become the first boys in the state of Utah to achieve these milestones in just their junior year is very exciting,” he added. “It has been a pleasure having them be a part of our Lehi volleyball family as they are helping to create a winning culture here.”
With a very young squad, the Pioneers struggled to a 5-17 record in the inaugural season for boys volleyball in 2024. Shewell and Reynolds were the only freshmen on the varsity team that year.
Last season was an entirely different story. As sophomores, Shewell and Reynolds were key members of a senior-heavy squad that powered its way through a tough schedule, finishing with a 19-5 record and beating No.2-seeded Westlake to earn third place at the 6A state tournament.
The duo’s contributions were recognized by opposing coaches as Shewell was named to the All-State First Team and Reynolds was voted onto the All-State Third Team.
Their accomplishments in volleyball are certainly notable, but they are not the only ones. Shewell just completed his third season as a member of the varsity basketball team. He garnered 6A All-State Honorable Mention honors last year.
This season, he was the third-highest scorer in 6A with 21.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, along with 33 steals and 16 blocked shots, helping the Pioneers to the state Final Four.
Shewell has benefited from some genetic gifts as well as outstanding coaching. His father Kolby is not only his high school coach but has been his club team mentor as well, and it doesn’t stop there.
Ashton’s mother Adrianne has also helped to coach him, and both parents were outstanding athletes in their own right.
“We both played volleyball and basketball in high school,” Kolby said. “Adrianne was a standout at Emery High and played volleyball at the University of Hawaii her freshman year before transferring to the University of Utah for her last three years.
“I grew up playing volleyball with my family as my aunt was the volleyball coach at Uintah High,” the coach continued. “So, I spent a lot of time in the gym and ended up playing volleyball on the UVU men’s team.”
The couple’s oldest child, daughter Avery, was also a volleyball standout at Lehi. She earned All-State honors all three years of high school and went on to a distinguished collegiate career at UVU.
As a senior, she was the 2025 WAC Player of the Year plus the 2025 WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, setting season-high marks with 22 kills and 24.5 points against Utah Tech in the WAC Championship match. She’s now playing professionally overseas, currently in Kosovo.
“Once Avery was old enough to play, Adrianne and I started coaching together, so our kids grew up in the volleyball gym too,” Kolby said. “So, all four of our kids play volleyball.” Younger daughter Aliya is a two-year All-City player on the Lehi girls volleyball team as a sophomore. Xander is in seventh grade.
As for Reynolds, he has the rare distinction of playing two varsity sports in the same season as a member of the boys tennis team. Last year as a sophomore, he was Lehi’s highest-seeded player with his No. 1 doubles partner entering the state tournament and reached the quarterfinals.
“Ty is one of those freak athletes who can just do anything and do it well,” Kolby said. “He’s amazing at the piano too. His mom played basketball and tennis.
“Ty just started playing club volleyball when he was 11 and 12. He started playing on the same team with Ashton and they’ve been on the same team every year since then,” Kolby said. “They have such a great connection with each other on the court because they’ve played together for so long.”
With about half the volleyball season left to play, the Pioneers have an 11-2 record even though they graduated almost the entire varsity squad from last year – except for Ashton and Ty. Stay tuned.
