Bumped to the third-place championship, West Field defeated No. 2 Pleasant Grove 2-1 for the consolation title on top of its share of the Region 5 regular-season title with Fremont. The Longhorns, finishing the season 26-6 overall on Wednesday, knocked down No. 4 Maple Mountain on Tuesday to reach the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group and everything they’ve accomplished this season,” said Jantzen Ryan, now 60-32 in three seasons as West Field’s head coach, in a written statement.

“From winning our first region championship to finishing (third) at state, the highest finish in program history, these girls have continued to raise the standard for West Field volleyball. What stands out to me is their resilience. We faced adversity throughout the season, but this team always found a way to respond and battle back. Even after a tough battle in the semifinals, they came back determined to finish strong and earned that (third-place) finish against Pleasant Grove.”

The Longhorns, falling in all three sets (25-18, 25-12, 25-17) to the Wildcats on Tuesday, rallied back from a 20-13 deficit in the opening set and looked poised to hang on in the third set after Kalli Bremser led West Field to an early 6-4 lead. Sitoafa Tausinga ate up West Field’s short-lived cushion to lead 15-12 en route to a semifinal sweep, advancing the 29-win Wildcats to the state finals in consecutive seasons.

In Utah, West Field, waving off five seniors with its latest class, finished its third-ever campaign with three players ranking top-25 in multiple statistical categories. Bremser, specifically, finished her senior season 11th overall with 85 season-long blocks and 22nd in hitting percentage (.304). Aliyah Mann led Region 1 at the service line with 72 aces (17th in Utah), and Halia Fonotisatele similarly finished top-10 in 5A with 713 season-long assists (1st in Region 1 and 17th in Utah).

“They are a talented group and as proud as I am of their accomplishments on the court, I’m even more proud of the people they are,” Jantzen wrote. “They’re incredible teammates who genuinely care about each other, work hard, and play for something bigger than themselves. Being part of building this program from the ground up with these girls has been incredibly special. They’ve created a culture and legacy that will have a lasting impact on West Field volleyball for years to come.”

Woods Cross, the top seed, takes on No. 3 Skyline in the state finals later Thursday night at UVU.

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.