Two Straight Lehi Froggie Volleyball Matches

Timp Sports Weekly

October 7, 2015

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at two home volleyball matches hosted by the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. Both matches were riveting -- correction, ribbiting to watch. Both matches were vital to Lehi's efforts to win a Region Four championship. How did the Froggies fare in those matches? As they say in Lehi, let's swim straight to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Ferocious PG Vikings Drain Lehi Froggies in 4-Game Match Sept. 29

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly

Because the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings had lost a recent five-game volleyball match at home to the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen, it was easy to assume that the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, would have an easy time in flooding away Pleasant in a Sept. 29 match at Lehi. The reason for that assumption was that the Froggies had washed away the Awesome Cavewomen in a three-game match in early September.

That assumption  turned out to be false, however, for the Ferocious Vikings drained Lehi in a four-game match by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23.

Ferocious Viking Kazman Tarawhitti said, "We wanted to stay focused on our playing tonight. So we played much better tonight than we did against AF."

Her teammate Malli Valuardson, "Our loss to American Fork taught us that any team in our region can beat any other one on any given night. So we have to be ready to play every time we go out onto the floor for a match."

Kills by Valguardson. Sara Hamson, and Kennedy Redd posted an 8-1 lead for the Ferocious Vikings in Game 1. Lehi suddenly realized that the Ferocious Vikings weren't going to be easy opponents like the Awesome Cavewomen were two weeks before. Rylin Roberts and Amber Lamborn sparked a comeback for the Froggies. They leaped back within 12-11. Aided by Sydney White's serves, Lamborn and Roberts applied much pressure on the Ferocious Vikings' front row. Despite efforts put forth by Hamson, Valguardson, and Brooklyn Dahl, a Lamborn kill put the Froggies ahead 15-14. Hamson's hitting tipped Pleasant Grove back ahead 16-15. Lehi stayed closely behind the Ferocious Vikings. However, after the Froggies had paddled within 24-23, a Dahl block scored a 25-23 for the Ferocious Vikings.

For the second game, Tarawhiti's serving produced a 2-0 lead for the Ferocious Vikings. However, Lehi soon stroked ahead 4-3. A seesaw battle ensued until the score got tied at seven. A Marta Ellsworth kill put Lehi ahead 8-7, and the Froggies never trailed again in Game 2, even though Pleasant Grove tied the game at 12 on a Kennedy Redd kill. A Roberts kill tipped the Froggies ahead 13-12. Hamson's hitting paced Pleasant Grove within 18-17, but Mikayla Upham's hitting prevented the Ferocious Vikings from catching up with the Froggies. A Faith Crabb kill gave the Froggies a 25-21 win, setting the stage for a fourth game.

The third game opened with the Ferocious Vikings pulling ahead 2-0. This time, Pleasant Grove stayed narrowly ahead all the way, even though a Crabb block did tie the score at seven. A Redd block put the Ferocious Vikings ahead 8-7. Hamson held firm against an extremely, aggressive Froggie effort at the net as Rachel Richard, Roberts, and Lamborn strived to throw her off rhythm. Hamson couldn't be shaken, though. Aided by Dahl, Valguardson, Tarawhiti, and Redd, Hamson eventually registered a kill that produced a 25-22 win for the Ferocious Vikings.

The fourth game went down as contest between Upham and Hamson as they each took turns registering kills that the game tight all the way through. When Lehi broke a 4-4 tie, the Froggies looked as though they would stroke easily to forcing a fifth game. Hits by Roberts, Upham, and Crabb kept Lehi ahead for most of the game. When the Froggie lead had swollen to 17-11, a fifth game looked inevitable. However, a Hamson kill sparked a strong Ferocious Viking comeback, which encountered strong resistance from Upham and Lamborn. Those two Froggies' valiant efforts could not stop Pleasant Grove from tying the game at 23 on a Dahl block. A Tarawhiti ace put Pleasant Grove ahead 24-23, and the Ferocious Vikings then won the match on a Froggie hitting error.

Pleasant Grove Coach Alyce Jones said, "We played with a lot of fire tonight. We had learned from American Fork that every team in this region had to be taken seriously."

Hamson produced 17 kills for the Ferocious Vikings. Roberts came up with 18 kills for the Froggies and Upham contributed another 12.

Lehi Froggies Dealt Westlake Shockers Shocking Loss in 3-Game Match Oct. 1
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Froggies, the Lehi Pioneers rebounded from their loss to the Pleasant Grove Vikings, by winning at home Oct. 1 a three-game match against the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers, by scores at 25-14, 25-15, 25-13.

"We served exceptionally well throughout the match," said Lehi Coach Jamie Ingersoll. "Mikayla Upham had a great night in serving."

Early in the first game, Westlake took five one-point leads. However, the Shockers couldn't keep Lehi in check. Amber Lamborn stirred a strong Lehi attack at the net. After Froggie Bryanna Raff registered a kill that tied the game at eight, Lamborn hammered two straight kills to produce a 10-8 lead for the Froggies. Tessa Riffle, Savannah Domgaard, and Avery Shields attempted to keep the Shockers in the game. However, Rachel Richards joined Marta Ellsworth, Rylin Roberts, and Lamborn in leading the Froggies far ahead of the Shockers. The closest they could get to the Froggies were seven points.

After Lehi won the first game 25-14, a Shields kill sent Westlake out to a 2-0 lead. It vanish through the hot hitting of Lamborn and Roberts. Shields and Domgaard pushed the Shockers within 7-6, but an Upham kill tipped the momentum into Lehi's favor. Ellsworth and Lamborn capitalized on Sydney White's serves to create a double-digit lead for the Froggies. They won the second game by a score of 25-13.

An Upham ace put Lehi on the scoreboard first. Before long, the Froggies commanded an 8-2 lead. Westlake fell apart at that point despite individual, good efforts by Shields, Riffle, and Domgaard. Faith Crabb, Lamborn and Upham guided the Froggies in pounding the Shockers into submission. A Lamborn kill produced the match point for Lehi as the Froggies won Game 3 by a score at 25-13.

Upham produced 13 kills for Lehi while Ellworth produced another 10. Crabb came up with five blocks and two aces.