The strength of the highly competitive Region 3 boys volleyball was on full display at the 6A State Tournament this past weekend. Despite being lowly seeded, the league teams outdid themselves, taking the top three spots, with the Falcons finishing in third place.
Skyridge finished the league season in fourth place with a 5-5 record, earning them the ninth seed in the final RPI. The Falcons handily defeated eighth-seeded Davis in the second round and stunned top-seeded Herriman in the quarterfinals.
They lost to No. 5 Lone Peak in the semifinals, but beat No. 7 Syracuse in the deciding game to take third place. No. 3 Pleasant Grove beat the Knights in a close game to win the championship. Skyridge beat the Vikings in both region games, but did not play them in the tournament.
The Falcons finished the season with a 15-10 record overall.
April 23: Skyridge 3. Pleasant Grove 1
The Falcons dropped the first set at home to the Vikings but won the next three sets to win 23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-20.
Junior right wing Marcus Reitinger led the attack with 14 kills. Senior outside hitter Frankie Fainga was outstanding with 13 kills, five aces, two solo blocks, nine digs and 26 serve receptions, while junior setter Devin Willits added seven kills and 37 assists.
Sophomore libero Fihi Fainga had 13 digs and 20 serve receives, while senior setter Wyatt Muir had 12 digs. Third-year libero Clay Warner had 11 serve receives.
April twenty five: Westlake 3. Skyridge 0
The Falcons outshot the Thunder but couldn't get the points they needed at the right time as the home team was shut out 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.
Frankie Fainga had 19 kills and 19 serve receives in the match. Reitinger had six kills. Fihi Fainga had 15 digs and 28 serve receives. Willits had 29 assists.
April 30: American Fork 3. Skyridge 0
On the road, the Falcons lost by just a few points in a hard-fought overtime game that the Cavemen won 30-28, 25-22, 28-26.
Frankie Fainga led the team with 19 kills, three solo blocks, 16 digs and 19 serve receives. Reitinger added 12 kills and Fihi Fainga had 19 digs, 15 serve receives and two aces. Warner had 12 digs and 26 serve receives and Willits had 33 assists.
May 2: Lehi 3. Skyridge 2
At home, the Falcons won the first two sets by tied scores of 25-20, but then the Pioneers won three straight sets by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 15-11 to seal the victory.
Eight players had kills in the match, led by Frankie Fainga with 25 kills, five aces, three solo blocks, eight digs and 23 serve receives. Reitinger added 17 kills and Fihi Fainga had 23 digs and 35 serve receives. Willits had 48 assists.
May 7: Lone Peak 3, Skyridge 2
The road game was a close one with the Knights coming away with a 18-25, 25-15, 16-25, 30-28, 15-12 victory. Frankie Fainga had 24 kills, three aces, 13 digs and 29 serve receptions. Senior middle blocker Isaac Leavitt had 16 kills and senior outside hitter Dylan Neilson added nine kills.
Warner had four aces, 22 digs and 34 serve receives. Willits had three kills, two aces and an impressive 51 assists. Fihi Fainga had 17 serve receives, Muir had 15 digs and sophomore middle blocker Trey Mahe had three solo blocks.
May 16: Skyridge 3. Davis 1
The Falcons began the playoffs at UVU after a first-round bye and survived some tight sets: The Darts won the first game 25-18, but Skyridge went on to beat the Darts 32-30, 25-13 and 27-25.
Team leader Frankie Fainga gave it his all in the match, finishing with an impressive 26 kills, 6 aces, 3 solo blocks, 17 digs and 29 serve receives.
Leavitt added 16 kills and two solo blocks, and senior outside hitter Shane Watts had 10 kills. Willits had 17 digs and 59 assists. Warner had 19 digs and 33 serve receives. Muir had 15 digs.
May 16: Skyridge 3. Herriman 1
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Mustangs held off a tough first set overtime victory, 27-25, before losing three straight games to the Falcons, 28-26, 25-19, 25-22. Frankie Fainga and Leavitt provided an effective one-two punch at the net, recording 24 and 17 kills respectively.
Frankie recorded three aces, four solo blocks, 12 digs and 13 serve receives. Warner had a busy game with 29 digs and 46 serve receives. The versatile Willits added two aces, five blocks, 13 digs and 51 assists.
May 18: Lone Peak 3, Skyridge 1
The Falcons came close to defeating the Knights again, but hung in there to win 26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19.
Frankie Fainga had 16 kills, 15 digs and 19 serves received, while Reitinga had 14 kills. Warner had 19 digs and 30 serves received, while Fihi Fainga had 18 digs and 13 serves received. Willits had 41 assists and Muir had 12 digs.
May 18: Skyridge 2. Syracuse 1
Under the tournament format, the losers' bracket will be best of three, so the Falcons need to beat the Titans two times to clinch third place with scores of 25-21, 16-25, 25-23.
Frankie Fainga shared the court with many players in the final match of a remarkable season but still managed to post a spectacular performance with 21 kills and 14 digs. Reitinger added nine kills and Warner had 10 digs on 29 serve receives. Willits had 16 digs and 38 assists.
