High school boys volleyball: Maple Mountain overcomes mistakes to take 5A crown over Bountiful
Since the start of May, Maple Mountain has been one of the most dominant teams in the state. Prior to Saturday’s 5A championship match, the Golden Eagles won 16 games in a row, with their last five wins being 3-0 sweeps.
Maple Mountain finished its perfect postseason with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 5A championship win over Bountiful and finished the postseason with a 12-0 set record.
“It’s a lot of trust they have in each other,” said Maple Mountain head coach Geoff Wright. “They really buy into the idea of being a family. Sometimes they get down but then they build each other up because that’s what families do. You refocus on every point, if something goes bad you put it away and get a positive attitude.”
Golden Eagles’ Trey Thornton consistently led in kills throughout their postseason run and it was no different in the championship match. Thornton started the opening set with seven kills to help take the 25-21 opening set win.
It wasn’t the cleanest Maple Mountain had played this weekend, but it was enough to take the first set.
However, things started to spiral for the Golden Eagles as Bountiful took advantage of Maple Mountain errors and found a 15-10 lead in the second set.
Despite trailing by five, it was the exact type of scenario Wright says his team had practiced for all season.
“We practice a lot of different scenarios, so in practice well say we’re down 20-22, 15-18, or 15-22,” Wright said. “We had that timeout and said, ‘We’ve done this a million times in practice, you guys have the grit, we got this.’ The boys looked at each other and said, ‘We got this.’ That’s how it came together.”
Maple Mountain’s Johan Stoop provided a lift in the second set with four kills, but still Bountiful stayed on top until 23-21.
Maple Mountain then went on a four-point rally, which was capped off by a Thornton block and then a kill for the 25-23 set win.
“We’ve been focusing on breathing and staying calm under pressure,” Thornton said. “So, trusting my teammates that when I make a bad pass, they can bring it back and it’s really just trusting your team when you’re tired to pick you back up.”
“We’ve been practicing being down and staying positive, and I keep saying trust but it’s so important with the team. Whether it’s trusting my middle to be there on a block, or trust I get a good set, I really give it all to my teammates.”
The momentum carried into the third set for the Golden Eagles as they got out to a 16-14 lead midway through the third set.
Set after set went to Thornton, and even though Thornton ended the game with a team-high 18 kills, Gavin Pricer and Manase Storey helped provide much needed relief with kills and blocks for the Golden Eagles.
“(Trey has) had a lot of pressure on him all week,” Wright said. “Last night we had a team dinner and we talked about that. Everyone has pressure for different reasons, they went off by themselves as a team and talked.
“They’re brothers, so even though Trey was carrying that weight, he sees that every person is important, because when he draws that attention, it opens up lanes for other players.”
Maple Mountain kept a step ahead of Bountiful and took the third set 25-22 and earned the inaugural 5A crown.
“It’s bittersweet (for the season to be over), but it’s exciting,” said Wright. “I think there’s many more years of great volleyball to come. Volleyball is a wonderful sport, and it builds a lot of character when you have to fight point after point.”
