When the Taylorsville volleyball team got swept in straight games by Lone Peak in the first round of the 5A state volleyball tournament, it wasn't that much of a surprise.

Lone Peak was among the elite this season, qualifying for the finals before losing to Pleasant Grove in the championship game. And it wasn't due to the Knights being the better team, either; the Warriors' surprise came when the team got news they would be playing without star center Ashley Aloi in the week leading up to the 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 loss.

"We spent the entire last week trying to figure out the rotation to minimize the damage, and we never really got in rhythm," said coach Rich Kaelin. "We just weren't on the same page for most of it. We didn't come out and fire hard; we were questioning what to do and where the subs would go. They were still trying to get the feel, and it's just volleyball is all about chemistry."

If Taylorsville had to lose, this was certainly not the way the Warriors envisioned.

The Warriors showed plenty of promise throughout the season. In the Rocky Mountain Champions Classic tournament Taylorsville beat eventual state champions Pleasant Grove, becoming the only Utah team to defeat the Vikings this season. Aloi was their cornerstone; she led them to an 8-2 region record and was the cog that made the Warrior-machine go. And for all her hard work, she was forced to sit on the sidelines watching her team's season come to a premature end as Kaelin was forced to replace Aloi with sophomore Triniti Taylor and hope for the best.

The best Taylor could do wasn't enough against Lone Peak, though one can hardly blame her. Aloi left some pretty big shoes to fill on short notice, but with the added experience Taylor has given the Warriors something to look forward to as she stepped it up in a big way in the consolation bracket. Taylor and the rest of the Taylorsville squad regained their swagger in three straight 3-1 victories over Murray, Hunter and Skyline, in that respective order, to cap the season on a high note, claiming sixth place in the state. Sophomores Taylor, Maia Sears and Sam Staker showed how dangerous a team Taylorsville was and will continue to be for some time.

"I'm already very excited [for next year]," said Kaelin. "My four main starters will be back, including Katie Greenberg. A few other sophomores and juniors are ready to step in. With experience [from this season's playoffs], they'll be great leaders."

So while many of Taylorsville's top rivals will graduate their best players this year, the Warriors will have the added knowledge and experience from this year's unfortunate ending. Greenberg will be the lone greybeard of the group, but everyone Kaelin puts on the court will have the tools necessary to push Taylorsville to the next level.

The talent was there, but the Warriors will have to wait until next season to see if that potential comes into fruition. Until then, Kaelin will have to wait. He and several players, including Greenberg, have softball to look forward to in the spring as they try and get over the sting of this season's volleyball letdown. That's not to say, though, that Kaelin doesn't still have volleyball on his mind.

"It was a lot of emotion and ups and downs," said Kaelin. "I'm not putting that much thought into [next season] quite yet and I haven't been able to savor what we accomplished this season.

"After all, a 24-6 season is nothing to sneeze at, so I feel real good about this."