Pine View defeats top-seeded Orem to win first 4A boys volleyball state title

Pine View outside hitter Nathan Mitchell goes up to spike the ball against Provo in the second round of the 4A boys volleyball state tournament, Orem, Utah, May 10, 2024 | Photo by St. George News , Brent Lowe

ST. George — On Saturday, the Pineview Panthers won the 4A state boys volleyball championship.

Pine View vs. Provo, 4A Boys Volleyball State Tournament, Orem, Utah, May 10, 2024 | Photo by Brent Lowe, St. George News

The third-seeded Panthers, who play at Utah Valley University in Orem, defeated Provo and Layton Christian on Friday to advance to Saturday's semifinals, where they defeated the second-seeded Logan Grizzlies 3-2.

And in the championship match at the end of the night, Pine View came from two sets down to upset top-seeded Orem, 3-2.

“We certainly had to go through three good teams to win this state championship,” Pine View coach Josh Warner told the St. George News.

In the deciding fifth set against Orem, the Panthers built an early advantage and at one point led 12-7, but then Orem rallied and scored five straight points to tie the game.

“Then it was just a matter of exchanging points until the final point,” Warner said. “And that was a great play by a very offensive player on our team, Spencer Blackmore. He rose up for glory, that's for sure. The guy on the other side of the net was bigger. But he went up and adjusted with him and put the ball through the players' hands and basically into the low seam and it just went to their side and the rest is history. As they say.”

Pine View's victory capped off a highly successful season in the newly sanctioned sport's first year in Utah. The Panthers finished with an overall record of 25-5, including 11-1 in Region 9. Pine View shared the regional title with Crimson Cliffs.

on saturday night In the title match against Orem, Blackmore finished with a team-high 17 kills, and fellow outside hitter Cody Campbell added 11 kills. Both players are seniors on the team and co-captains. Junior setter Isaiah Warner, the Panthers' third captain, had 44 assists in Pine View's 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 17-15 victory in the title game. Contributed.

“We were able to dig very deep,” said coach Josh Warner, who is also Isaiah's father. “Honestly, it was crazy how good Orem's team is. It's a favorite all year long. They're head and shoulders above board and the most talented team in Class 4A.”

“For our young players, it was really important for us to stay confident, continue to be good teammates, and find ways to build each other up without quitting or getting distraught,” Warner added. “That rarely happens, you know? It's much easier to panic and worry when you're on a better team.”

Coach Warner noted that Blackmore was the team's primary setter during the regular season, but moved to the outside hitter position during the playoffs.

“We didn’t settle on the lineup we played in the state tournament until about two weeks ago,” he said. “We ran a completely different lineup, a different system, and we were just tinkering and tinkering, figuring out what was best.”

Ultimately, the coach said he decided to move Isaiah Warner into the setter role.

“Isaiah has only been the primary setter for two weeks, but honestly it's been less than that,” added Coach Warner. “So it was great that he was able to calm down and face the situation. It allowed Spencer to go from being our No. 1 setter to an outside hitter, and Spencer was able to move from being our No. 1 setter to being an outside hitter. He did a great job with the transition.”

In addition to his 44 assists against Orem, Isaiah Warner had 67 assists in two games on Friday, then had 46 assists against Logan, giving him 157 assists in four games over the weekend.

Crimson Cliffs vs. Payson, 4A Boys Volleyball State Tournament, Orem, Utah, May 10, 2024 | Photo by Steve Hall, St. George News

After dropping the first and third sets against Logan, Pineview came from behind to win 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11.

“Logan had a really good outside hitter and a really good middle,” Coach Warner said. “In other positions they were a little small, but they didn't make mistakes. They extended the rally. They took advantage of our mistakes. They were very good at ball control, defense, and extending rallies. So I was a little nervous at times.”

Warner said the team lost seven seniors to graduation, four of whom were starters, but he expects the Panthers to be competitive again next year.

“Yeah, we’re excited,” he added, mentioning several underclassmen who are expected to contribute as much next year as they did this spring.

“We're going to bring back our setter in Isaiah, and we're going to bring back junior Nathan Mitchell, who was playing outside, middle and opposite,” Warner said, adding, “We're going to bring back sophomore libero Brock Swensen, but next year. We'll probably have to move him to a hitting position.”

Also representing Region 9 in the state tournament held at UVU over the weekend were Crimson Cliffs, Desert Hills and Hurricanes. Here's a quick summary of their tournament performance:

The fifth-seeded Crimson Cliffs upset No. 12 Payson in the second round, with the Lions winning 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-20). Crimson Cliffs then lost to No. 4 Ridgeline 2-1 in the repechage game.
No. 18 Desert Hills lost to No. 2 Logan 1-3 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-12) in the second round. The Thunder then lost to 10th place Murray 2-1 in the repechage bracket.
The No. 16 Hurricanes lost to No. 1 Orem in the second round, winning 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-19). In the repechage bracket, the Hurricanes defeated No. 9 Jordan 2-0, but lost to No. 4 Ridgeline 2-0.

Click here to see the complete tournament bracket on MaxPreps.

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