The Bountiful High boys volleyball team, who were the undefeated Region 5 champions, finished second in 5A last season and that is right where the Redhawks find themselves to begin this spring.

Junior outside hitter Landon Chism, the region’s Most Valuable Player from a year ago, returns with senior setter Kainoa Evans and sophomore outside hitter Aidan Sanford to lead the squad which also welcomes freshman outside hitter Cooper Wood, who “will be a great utility player for us this season,” according to second-yard head coach Sarah Chism. 

The team is focusing in on individual skills and team chemistry to have collective success. “We have a lot of potential and a lot of versatility and we are hoping to be able to access that as much as possible,” Coach Chism said. “We have a goal of challenging practices that will prepare us for the rise in experience across the state.”

To start the season March 4, Bountiful beat Davis 25-20, 25-23, 25-19.
“We always look forward to the opportunity to see Davis in our first match of the season,” Coach Chism said. “They are a talented and physical team. Coach Barker does a great job and we know it is always going to be a great match right out of the gates.”

Against Skyridge March 5, the Redhawks lost 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11. Landon Chism put away 21 kills – on 47 attempts with only five hitting errors, hitting .340 – while Pulsipher recorded five blocks “despite having a big assignment to defend their physical middles,” according to coach Chism.

“This was a great match for early in the season,” Coach Chism said. “The volleyball that was played as a high level with fast offenses and great defensive plays on both sides of the net. It was a good challenge for us to go five with a very strong 6A team. We learned a lot about ourselves and saw some rapid improvement throughout the match.”

The next night, Bountiful lost another tough five-setter in a reverse sweep to Orem 20-25, 24-26, 25-12, 25-18, 17-15.

The Redhawks are also scheduled to play Woods Cross (twice), Bonneville (twice), Roy (twice), Wasatch, Northridge, Olympus, Bingham, Viewmont (twice), Clearfield (twice), Box Elder (twice) Farmington and Pleasant Grove this spring.

Also on the BHS squad this season are seniors Brett Anderson, Jacob Bremner, Tommy Cannon, Keegan Figueroa, Liam Glissmeyer, Max Johnson, Joshua Petersen and Colby Watson; 

juniors Jonah Badell, Lincoln Crockett, Caden Heath, Roman Lage, Matthew Pulsipher, Lincoln Pykles, Jack Rose, Braidon Sessions, Ryan Wakefield and Ryan Youngberg; sophomores Jared Calder, Kale Ferguson and Boston Nelson; and freshmen Cash Ferguson, Jude Harris, Connor Heath, Benjamin Hodge, Wilson Jones, Samuel Pulsipher, McKai Watson and Joseph West.

“While we are still very young, we do return a lot of experience that will be helpful to us all season long,” said coach Chism. “Our team is committed to excellence from top to bottom and we have a great group of young men that want to push themselves and each other to be their own personal best and be the best we can as a team.”