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OREM — Volleyball was never fully on Lucky Jennings' radar before his sophomore year at Orem High.
But his grandparents pleaded with him not to play physical sports like football and rugby that he loved growing up, and volleyball — a sport celebrated by his whole family, including a sister who lives in Samoa — was the next best option.
"Volleyball was the only suggestion I could think of," he said. "It was my dad's sport. My whole family plays volleyball."
On Thursday, Jennings' commitment to his new sport paid off.
The junior had 34 assists with four block touches as the Tigers swept crosstown rival Timpanogos, 25-18, 25-19, 30-28 in the boys' volleyball 4A championship match at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University.
"He's not your average setter. He's a Poly kid who just wanted to explore ways that we can run an offense," Orem coach Bill Sefita said of his second-year setter. "And that's what he does. He does that really well."
Ben Hone had 12 kills for Orem (26-6), Aaron Nielsen added another dozen and Luke Wolsey put down nine to lift the Tigers to their first state title a year following a five-set loss to Pine View in the inaugural 4A championship a year ago.
That wasn't going to happen this time, though.
"I was like, it cannot end like last year," said Hone, who will leave for a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after graduation. "I know that because of the loss, it made this win so much more fulfilling. And it was great; I loved it."
The Tigers never trailed in the opening set as Jennings balanced the attack with a dozen assists to five attackers en route to the 25-18 win.
Timpanogos tied the second set up three times, and then took a 14-13 lead before Orem pulled away down the stretch and put away the 25-19 advantage with a block by Aaron Maya and Luke Wolsey.
The Tigers overcame an early third-set deficit, tied the game at 13-all and took their first lead on Wolsey's second ace of the match.
Aaron Nielsen tied the set on another flush from Jennings, 18-18. The Timberwolves refused to go away, battling back until the Tigers took a 24-22 lead in the decisive set.
But Cooper Pope, who had 10 kills, pulled Timpanogos back, tying the match at 27-all before the Tigers clinched the match on Jennings' set to Wolsey over the middle for the win.
"It wasn't a pretty season," Sefita said. "We had a lot of adversities that kind of hit us. But the boys just continued chipping away one day at a time. We had certain goals in mind, to win region and then state was our next goal — and we were able to do that today."
Zaxon Downey dished out 16 assists for Timpanogos (15-10).
