Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
OREM — Throughout the season, Maple Mountain coach Geoff Wright dubbed opposite Trey Thornton the best at his position in the state.
With one final whip of his left arm Saturday, Thornton and the Golden Eagles left no doubt who was the best team in 5A.
Piloted by savvy sophomore setter Taft Hillman, and anchored by Thornton's monster 19-kill performance, the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles overcame deficits in each set to sweep away the Bountiful Redhawks 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 Saturday at the UCCU Center.
Bountiful's six-hitter, two-setter system kept the Golden Eagles off balance all afternoon, led by Connor Burleson's 13 kills, but the Redhawks simply had no answer for Thornton, who came up with big kill after big kill for the Golden Eagles, keeping them afloat.
"Every day, we end play out different scenarios (where we're trailing)," Wright said. "In that timeout, we told them, 'We've been here before; you guys got this'."
The scenario that played itself out on this day was Maple Mountain trailing 23-21 in the second set, with the rally started by a dig kill by Mac Hillman down the near line that barely stayed in bounds.
Then Thornton took over.
He smoked a rocket into the far corner to tie the set at 23-23, then stuffed Landon Chism at the net to give the Golden Eagles set point at 24-23. He ended the set with a bomb that Redhawks libero Vicente Perez couldn't pop up to send the Maple Mountain faithful at UCCU Center into a frenzy.
"It's just incredible," Taft Hillman said of Thornton. "He just made everyone around him better this season, myself included."
That also carried over to other players for Maple Mountain, like setter Taft Hillman, whom Thornton said did a great job mixing up where he went on the floor when he was drawing plenty of attention.
It only fits, then, Mac Hillman came up with three huge kills, none bigger than the aforementioned dig kill that cued the Golden Eagles' second-set rally, which is something Taft Hillman said he can always count on.
The third set played out the same way as the second set — Bountiful led 20-19 in the third before Maple Mountain scored six of the final eight points, punctuated with Thornton's 19th and championship-winning kill, which only came after he was blocked on the first championship point.
Wright said it was "apropos" that Thornton would get the winning point, adding it was "special for him and the team".
"It's really cool that we were able to play in front of such a big crowd in our first year," Thornton said. "Hopefully, next year, it happens again."
And while Maple Mountain is the first-ever champion in 5A volleyball, Wright said it's his hope for the team to repeat, which is not out of the question — the Golden Eagles will only lose three seniors, and Thornton will be back, too.
But first, Thornton said he's going to celebrate by going to In-N-Out — as will likely most of the team.
"I'm definitely excited," Taft Hillman said. "I think we have a good chance to go back-to-back next year."
