Prep volleyball: Believe it: Underdog outlasts the big dogs

Orem » Coming into the Class 3A state tournament, the North Sanpete players were sure nobody thought they could win. But they didn't need others to believe it, just as long as they believed it themselves.

The Hawks were the No. 3 seed from Region 12. Not many expected them to make a splash at the state tournament, which made beating Morgan 25-16, 27-29, 25-22, 17-25, 15-13 at Utah Valley University on Saturday for the 3A championship even sweeter.

"People counted us out. We were the only ones to believe," said senior outside hitter Shelby Earl, who led the team with 21 kills. "We came together and peaked at the right time."

Things clicked for North Sanpete in the

tournament. The Hawks edged out Judge in five games in the first round, beat defending champ Hurricane and then Delta, which finished ahead of them in region play, to get to the state title match.

Morgan was a favorite in the playoffs and the Trojans lived up to their billing. Middle blocker Ashley Garfield led the game with 30 kills but she would have had much more if it wasn't for the Hawks' solid defense.

The Trojans are also strong at the net and have big blockers in Garfield and Bailey Farris. But the Hawks didn't let much hit the ground.

"We're not the biggest team but we play huge," said Shyanne Ison, who had 18 kills. "I think the biggest thing against them was being mentally tough. We knew we could beat

them."

Morgan didn't make it easy, though. The Trojans had players who played big at the net and played exceptional defense. They had the mettle to pull out a 29-27 win in the second game and came back from a 4-8 deficit in the fifth set to tie it at 13-13.

But an untimely service error gave the ball back to North Sanpete and the Hawks took the game and the match with a block on Garfield.

Morgan was solid in all phases except serving. The Trojans had three in just the fifth game.

"We had some unforced serving errors but that's not the reason we lost," said Morgan coach Liz Wiscombe. "We battled and it could have gone either way."

The match was everything a championship match should be. Momentum shifted frequently throughout the game.

North Sanpete coach Rickie Stewart knew it would take one of the team's best performances of the year to pull out a win and that's what she got from her players.

"In the state tournament, it's not always about the team with the best players. It's the team that gets the hottest and I think that's what we did," Stewart said. "If any group deserves this, it's this one. We were underdogs and they just executed."