OREM — Tears, screams of delight and a lot of hugs.

The Layton Christian Academy Eagles didn't win the 2A title Thursday night, but they defeated a perennial power and made school history with a second-round win against San Juan.

"For us, this is huge," said Eagles head coach Joy Nakaishi after the thrilling 25-23, 13-25, 25-22, 25-15 victory. "This is history for our school. We haven't gotten past this game."

Not only did the fourth-ranked Eagles get past fifth-ranked San Juan, they did it with power and precision.

"There is a little intimidation factor," said senior middle hitter Jasmine Porter, who committed to San Diego State last week in basketball. "We've been watching them for the last couple of years, but we just decided, 'Let's play our hardest. If we're going to lose, we're going to lose swinging.'"

Porter led the Eagles offense with 23 kills, while rightside hitter Kristine Reddington added 12 kills. Junior setter Taelor Scroggins earned 40 assists in the win.

"You have no idea how good this feels," said Scroggins, who was still shaking from the accomplishment. "A lot of this is mental; but it's also physical too."

The Eagles got off to a great start winning Game 1. The Broncos rattled LCA in the second game to even the match up. But the Eagles said they re-grouped and tried to focus on a single point at a time.

"This is a different team (from past squads)," said Nakaishi. "They know how to push. They know how to work hard. They've given God all the glory."

While the Eagles were able to pass so well they could run their quick offense almost at will, the Broncos struggled with passing the Eagles' serves.

"It's the pass," said Broncos head coach Cassy Moon. "This team has struggled with the pass all year. About a month and a half ago we went back to basics . . .We hadn't struggled since. This was an oddity."

She said the senior-laden team is disappointed that fifth-place is as good as it can get for the Broncos this season.

"This is two years in a row," she said. "I'm getting sick of it."

San Juan was led by junior middle hitter Kelsi Meyers, who earned 14 kills, and Alyssa Simpson, also a middle hitter, who added seven kills. Briona Laws added six kills and Brooke Bowring earned seven kills.

In today's 2A semifinal games, Grand will take on South Summit and LCA will play Waterford. Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m. at UVU.

e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com