HIGHLAND — Fireworks erupt every time the Pleasant Grove Vikings and Lone Peak Knights take the court against each other.

It doesn't hurt the two volleyball teams are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 and are region rivals. It also doesn't hurt that they tend to match up in the state championship match over and over again.

Last November, the Knights took the state title over the Vikings, and Pleasant Grove didn't have any plans of allowing a recurrence of that match in their first Region 4 meeting of the year.

Though the Knights made a huge comeback in Game 1 and stole the victory in that game, the Vikings simply took over after dropping the first and won the match 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-20.

"We didn't really make any adjustments after the first game — the girls just got feisty and wanted it. We started to clean up our game," said Pleasant Grove coach Jamie Schapper.

She admitted that her squad has been thinking about revenge since the state championship loss, and the two teams could meet again as soon as Saturday in the Rocky Mountain Champion Classic, which is hosted by Lone Peak every year.

Schapper was especially proud of the team's blocking and serving and just how clean her Vikings played throughout.

"We kept it clean. We nailed our passing, getting great set choices, and putting the ball away in an awesome clean game," said Schapper, who noted how happy she was with her setters throughout the match.

Rae Mulitalo finished with 22 assists and a pair of aces, and Kemi McFarland added 12 aces as the two shared court time in a 6-2 game plan.

But the star of the show didn't come from the setting line or the 6-foot-7 presence of Jennifer Hamson, though she did come away with 12 points and two blocks. Kim Dahl took charge out on the court, putting up pretty amazing stats with a match-high 13 kills, three blocks and five aces. And she topped it off by hitting an impressive .555.

"Kim was huge for us. We have a rotation where she can hit outside as well as middle, and she's been taking advantage of the opportunity, hitting it straight down. She's really stepped up for us," said Schapper.

Danica Mendivil knocked down eight kills and put up 18 digs in the match, with Melissa Rider spiking the ball six times. Annaliese Jenkinson added a pair of blocks in an impressive showing off the bench.

Lone Peak didn't give up without a fight. Both teams' level of play actually improved as the match went on. These two teams went on to prove once again that it's going to be very difficult for anyone to unseat them from their usual places on the court during the state championship match.

Cami Richan did pick up 12 kills to lead the Knights, and Ashlan Rogers finished with nine. Whitney Johnson had three blocks for Lone Peak, and Coralie Jarema had an impressive serving performance with three aces.

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