Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

The Maple Mountain girls volleyball team finished the 2023 season on top of the world with a 5A state championship title.

The 2024 team starts in a very different place, as only one starter, libero Coco Denison, returns. Despite the new faces, the Golden Eagles have started the season with a 4-1 record, including a sweep (26-24, 25-17, 25-17) of Provo on Thursday.

“Most of the kids that play on the varsity team were in the gym with our varsity team last year,” Maple Mountain coach Adam Longmore said. “That’s step No. 1. That’s where it all started. Hopefully they’ve learned how this program works because they’ve been in the gym with this team every day. They know what kind of effort, discipline and attitude we need.”

Last year’s group, led by twin sisters Morgan and Marly Pratt (now at Weber State), posted a record of 26-6 and defeated Bountiful 3-1 to win the school’s first state volleyball title.

“This year is different than any team I’ve coached in my three seasons at Maple Mountain,” Longmore said. “The last two years we knew the starting lineup every game. This year, that’s not the case. We’re competing at multiple positions and our kids really see the competition. They have to buy into the idea that we’re going to compete and that if you don’t get the spot, you can still be a good teammate and support us.”

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

Provo, which finished eighth in the 4A tournament last season and beat Hunter in its opening match on Tuesday, started strong and led by as many as eight points in the first set on Thursday. Maple Mountain caught up and fended off two set points. A service ace from Aliyah Marks tied the Golden Eagles at 24-24 and a block from Karli Smith put them within 25-24. Tenley Smithson deftly deflected the ball away from the Provo defense on the next serve to give Maple Mountain a 26-24 victory.

An ace from Provo’s Kali Carter brought the home team within 14-12 in the second set. But Maple Mountain went ahead 6-0 thanks to Denison’s serve, including an ace for an 18-12 lead. A dump attack from freshman Adison Thornton, another ace from Marks and a big swing from Emily Van Ginkel helped the Golden Eagles to a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3 was tied at 8-8 when Maple Mountain began to pull away. A kill from Karli Smith and an ace from Adi Gammell gave the Golden Eagles a 20-13 lead. Van Ginkel’s kill from the block made match point and Denison’s serve closed the set at 25-17 and brought the sweep.

Denison and Van Ginkel, both seniors, were elected team captains this season.

“This year has been really fun,” Denison said. “I like all the girls and it’s a really talented group. Obviously it’s been different, but I’ve enjoyed being a leader. We lead the team in our discussions and things like that. We’re always competing in practice and we’re a really close, tight-knit group of girls, just like last year. We love this sport. We have really strong hitters and we hit hard, so that will help get the teams out of the system.”

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

Longmore took his players to St. George to open the season at a tournament for team building and team-building activities. He hopes to see steady growth throughout the season.

“The message is that the team we are today is not going to be the team we are tomorrow,” he said. “The team we are tomorrow is not the team we are going to be next week. We have a lot of work to do. They know that, and they are working hard and getting better. We want to focus on the present to get better right now, but at the same time we want to be hungry and improve.”

Maple Mountain hosts Woods Cross on August 27, and Provo (1-1) travels to Kearns the same night.