The Ridgeline Riverhawks have fun on the court docket after beating the Desert Hills Thunder within the 4A volleyball state championship in Orem on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. Ben B. Braun, Deseret Information
Ridgeline capped off a dominant playoff run with a 3-0 sweep towards Desert Hills on Saturday and have become back-to-back 4A state champions.
The finals have been a rematch of final yr’s matchup, pitting the Ridgeline Riverhawks from Millville and the Desert Hills Thunder from St. George.
Within the quarterfinals and semifinals, Ridgeline had soared previous Crimson Cliffs and Inexperienced Canyon. On its solution to the finals, Desert Hills overcame Pine View and in addition had upsets on each fourth-seeded Cedar and top-seed Sky View.
Ridgeline instantly put its mark within the opening recreation of the finals with an early 6-0 lead. The blockers of Ridgeline made it troublesome on the Thunder hitters, which induced many hits to exit of bounds.
Desert Hills additionally appeared to be enjoying via nerves, nevertheless it managed to work its means again into the sport and tied it up 20-20.
However Ridgeline shortly regained management and received the primary set 25-21.
Within the second set, Ridgeline was far more dominant. Desert Hills was reeling, and the Thunder had a troublesome time controlling passes, which allowed the Ridgeline protection to play much more relaxed.
In the meantime, the Ridgeline protection was unrelenting, the offense was overwhelming and the Riverhawks have been crimson sizzling, which resulted in a fast 25-8 set win.
“They did an excellent job. We needed to give attention to the duty at hand. It wasn’t as a lot about what was or was not occurring on the opposite aspect of the online, nevertheless it was extra about specializing in what we will management on our aspect. They did a extremely, actually good job setting the tempo,” mentioned Ridgeline coach Jaicee Roden.
Ridgeline clearly had all the arrogance on this planet after coming off a convincing set win and a 2-0 lead.
Set three was one other sturdy win for the Riverhawks. The identical points persevered for Desert Hills, and, whereas they managed to choose themselves up and rally again a bit of ultimately, it was not sufficient to beat Ridgeline.
Ridgeline junior Julia Howe was a significant presence on the web, with enormous blocks and highly effective swings. Alongside fellow blockers, Howe induced many points for the Desert Hills hitters.
“It’s loopy, Coach Jaicee says you’re this shut and you'll obtain it. In the beginning of the sport, you have got three roadblocks for attaining a recreation, (that are) three units, and it’s simply superior we achieved it. Most of our crew are seniors this yr and it’s so onerous to depart them as a result of we’re all so shut. However this was superior and a enjoyable expertise,” mentioned Howe.
This championship was Ridgeline’s to win, regardless of the seeding saying in any other case. On its solution to a 4A title, Ridgeline solely misplaced one set in postseason play.