HIGHLAND — Two of the top three volleyball teams in 5A battled as No. 2 Lone Peak took out No. 3 Pleasant Grove for the second time this season, 25-13, 24-26, 25-23, 25-17.

A balanced effort for the Knights made the difference as Lone Peak virtually secured its first-ever Region 4 title with a 7-1 league record. Pleasant Grove dropped to 5-3 just behind Timpanogos. But the Knights hold the championship in their own hands as they head to American Fork and host Mountain View during the final week of the season next week.

Lacey Cramer and Christie Carpenter led the Knights with 12 kills each, followed closely by Caitlin Jensen with 10 kills and Aubrey Muaina with nine.

"I have a lot of great players," said Lone Peak coach Deanna Meyer, whose team seems to have the advantage over the Vikings after Pleasant Grove's state championship run last year.

The Knights only play two seniors, but the rest of the team is proving Lone Peak is not going to be easy to defeat for years to come.

"My juniors and sophomores are so strong. They need to be respected as players," said Meyer.

Those underclassmen were led by Cramer's four aces in addition to her double digit kills. Jensen added 11 digs to her kill total.

"I would like to play her (Jensen) as my libero, but I need her as a middle," said Meyer, who added that she's got some rare skills as a middle that can play well in the back row.

Libero Cari Shumway added four aces and 12 digs to the effort, and two young sophomores came in with solid serving efforts. Heather Hannemann and Ashton Gray came through in the clutch with great defense and serving.

"Heather comes in back row and serves well and passes well. She served 21 times and only had one error. Gray is a great little server. She serves for someone every match. These players that play defense and serve don't get the credit they deserve," said Meyer of her unheralded stars.

But that's to take nothing away from the glamour gals of the kills, who had great court composure, even when Pleasant Grove made its runs.

Game 1 belonged to the Knights from the first point, but just when it appeared they'd run off with Game 2 as well, the Vikings showed just why they're the third ranked team in the state. Lone Peak held a 15-7 lead when Pleasant Grove decided it was time to come through, scoring 14 of the next 18 points to snatch a two-point lead of their own.

The Viking run seemed to fluster the Lone Peak attack, but they refused to give it up that easily and knotted things up at 24-24 before dropping the final two points to the Vikings.

Game 3 once again appeared to belong to Lone Peak after they managed to regain the momentum, but Pleasant Grove came back yet again as Whitney Mendivil scored three straight for the Vikings on two kills and a block to get things back to 24-23. But Mendivil was outdone by Lone Peak's Cramer, who scored the final three Lone Peak points on kills, sending the Knights into Game 4 on the verge of victory.

It was Jessica Cook who came on strong for Lone Peak in the final stanza as she pounded down two kills and added one awe-inspiring solo block to give Lone Peak an insurmountable 19-13 lead. Carpenter finished things off with the kill.

Whitney Mendivil finished with 13 kills for Pleasant Grove, followed by her younger sister Danica with nine.