Game Details - Boys Volleyball

Top seed Wasatch’s hitting efficiency was off the charts in Wednesday’s dominant 5A quarterfinal win over No. 8 seed Brighton. Grant Hansen was on fire hitting .458 with 12 kills, while Chase Billeter hit .375 with 16 kills and JJ Serre hit .400 with 10 kills as the Wasps made quick work in the 25-16, 25-16, 25-17 win. With the win, Wasatch advances to Thursday morning’s semifinal against No. 4 seed Olympus at 10 a.m. After sweeping both matches on Wednesday, Wasatch put itself in the best position possible to success on Thursday’s win day of the season. A year ago Wasatch needed five sets to win both of its Day 1 games, and fatigue seemed to catch up to the players in a championship loss to Maple Mountain as players were cramping up according to coach Mike Wilton. “We wanted to make sure we're taking care of business today, show our opponents the respect they deserve by giving them your absolute best effort and playing as hard as you can and hopefully that equates to straight-set finishes so that we can rest a little bit and not have used up too much of our reserves,” said Wilton. Playing four matches in less than 36 hours can be exhausting, but Wasatch is in a favorable position to succeed after a strong performance Wednesday. “We hope to have something in the tank for tomorrow because it's going to be a battle,” said Wilton. Wasatch’s “heavy hitters” as Wilton called them helped set the tone against Brighton, but their willingness to be relentless defensively was just as important. “We've played against teams that just frustrate you because they just never let a ball drop, no matter how hard you hit the ball or what kind of a great block you make, they find a way to get it and I'm like, "guys, that's the kind of team we want to be,’” said Wilton. “And so that's been a point of focus too, like hey, relentless on defense, never give up on a play, always get after it.”