Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys volleyball earns five sweeps in six wins
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi boys volleyball team continued on a roll through the two weeks preceding the spring break, losing just one set in six matches. The Pioneers went 3-1 in the first round of Region 3 play and sit in second place in the league. They are 17-2 overall coming into this week.
March 24: Lehi 3, American Fork 0
Entertaining the Cavemen on their home court, the Pioneers started their sweep streak with a 25-15, 25-14, 25-18 decision. Junior outside hitter Ashton Shewell led the effort with 19 kills and 21 serve-receives.
Junior opposite Marcos Madden added seven kills while junior middle blocker Ben Anderson and senior middle blocker Matekitonga Havea each posted four kills and two solo blocks. Havea also had a block-assist. Junior setter Ty Reynolds provided two aces and 32 assists.
Senior opposite Jonny Dustin led in digs with 13 and had six serve-receives. Freshman defensive specialist Corban Wood served two aces and made seven digs. Junior defensive specialist CT Raubenheimer took 11 serve-receives.
“We had a good match for our first region win,” said Coach Kolby Shewell. “The boys all played really well. We like where we are headed as a team.”
March 25: Lehi 3, Springville 0
The Pioneers prevailed over the scrappy Red Devils 25-14, 25-22, 26-24 with the help of new players making their first varsity appearances.
Ashton Shewell completed 14 kills, two aces and 29 serve-receives. Senior outside hitter Kyson Ririe added nine kills, two solo blocks, eight digs and 13 serve-receives.
Junior middle blocker Thomas Wood got six kills and seven combined blocks. Dustin posted six kills, two aces, two solo blocks and 11 digs. Reynolds made 36 assists.
“The team played our best defense of the season,” Coach Shewell said. “The boys made lots of blocks and digs that created great hitting opportunities for the team.
“Ty did a great job of spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved. We still have a lot of room for growth, but things are looking really good,” he concluded.
March 26: Lehi 3, Skyridge 0
On the road, the Pioneers comfortably defeated the Falcons 25-17, 25-13, 25-12. Shewell led the way with 16 kills, four combined blocks and 14 serve-receives. Dustin added 11 kills and 15 digs, Thomas Wood provided eight kills with three block-assists and Ririe had seven kills and 13 serve-receives.
Reynolds served two aces and made 40 assists. Junior libero Rigden Hansen added 15 digs and 10 serve-receives. Anderson contributed three block-assists.
“We moved the ball around really well tonight,” Coach Shewell said. “I am happy that we are getting more equal attempts between the hitters. Our defense is improving so we are heading in the right direction.”
March 31: Lehi 3, Corner Canyon 1
In this hard-fought match, the Pioneers gave up the first set to the Chargers 25-21 on the road but battled through the next three to take the win 25-21, 25-22, 25-21. Shewell was tops in kills with 20 and also had nine digs and 24 serve-receives.
However, multiple players made big contributions to craft this victory. Ririe tallied nine kills with seven digs and 23 serve-receives, Anderson added eight kills with four combined blocks, Dustin had seven kills with 13 digs and Thomas Wood posted seven kills as well.
Reynolds provided three kills and three combined blocks to go with his 44 assists while Hansen made eight digs and took 26 serve-receives.
“We were able to come out victorious even though we had the most errors that we’ve ever had in a match,” Coach Shewell said. “We’re proud of the way the boys kept fighting through the mistakes and making crucial plays at the right time to pull out the win.
“This was a good learning opportunity that we will capitalize on. There’s no time to dwell on it as we’re right back at it for the next two days,” he said.
April 1: Lehi 3, West Jordan 0
The Pioneers made quick work of the Jaguars at home 25-9, 25-14, 25-8. Ten players registered kills in this contest with liberal substitutions with Dustin topping the board at 13 kills plus nine digs.
Shewell had 10 kills and Havea made five kills and three combined blocks. Reynolds served three aces with 39 assists while Hansen made seven digs and 12 serve-receives.
“We played really well against a good 5A team,” Coach Shewell said. “I love the way that we bounced back tonight. We were able to get a lot of players in and it was good preparation for tomorrow’s tough matchup with Cedar Valley.”
April 2: Lehi 3, Cedar Valley 0
The Pioneers prevailed at home 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. Shewell scored 13 kills with two aces, four combined blocks and 25 serve-receives while Dustin added nine kills and Ririe made six.
Thomas Wood made four combined blocks, Hansen contributed eight digs and 11 serve-receives while Reynolds made 32 assists.
“We played our best match of the season today,” Coach Shewell said. “Cedar Valley is a good team, but we were efficient offensively and defensively.
“We blocked well and had a lot of digs,” he continued. “Offensively we spread out the offense and Ashton, Jonny and Kyson all did well on the pins.”
The Pioneers continue Region 3 matches this week. They will host league leader Lone Peak on Tuesday (Apr. 14) to start the second round before heading to American Fork on Thursday (Apr. 16). Varsity contests begin around 6:30 p.m.
