Championship sweeps

Orem » It was the same setting, playing the same team for the same goal -- to win a Class 5A championship.

It felt like a bit of déjà vu for Pleasant Grove senior Kemi McFarland as her Vikings faced Lone Peak on Saturday at UVU for the state title, just as they did last year.

But the feelings were different. The Vikings were confident and above all, motivated by their loss a year ago. McFarland said it was that motivation that allowed Pleasant Grove to beat Lone Peak 25-16, 25-16, 26-25 for the state title.

"It was devastating last year," said McFarland, who had 23 assists, five kills and 13 digs. "We wanted it more."

It showed from the very

beginning. The Vikings got off to a 9-1 start in the first game and maintained a seven or eight-point lead throughout.

In the second game, the Knights had trouble stopping Pleasant Grove's hitters. Outside hitters Danica Mendivil and Kim Dahl and right side hitter Jennifer Hamson were unrelenting at the net. Mendivil had a match-high 19 kills, Dahl finished with 13 kills and Hamson had nine.

And Pleasant Grove was able to neutralize Lone Peak's offensive weapons. Libero McKell Staheli had 27 digs.

"As coaches, we pour hours into figuring out what they're going to do and what they're going to run," Pleasant Grove Jamie Schapper said. "Lone Peak is a very talented team. We just didn't want to repeat what happened

last year."

The Knights came alive in the third game and it seemed they would push the match into a fourth set.

Lone Peak stayed close and thanks to a three straight Pleasant Grove hitting errors, the Knights took a 19-17 lead. Lone Peak went to Ashlan Rogers, who came up with some big hits to continue the Knights' momentum. She finished with a team-leading 11 kills.

The game was tight but the Vikings had a block and then a kill from Mendivil to end the match.

"We did not want it to go to a fourth game. We wanted to take it to them," Mendivil said. "We just wanted to go out with a bang."

mthach@sltrib.com