Wilkinson, Titans remaining positive despite challenging season on the volleyball court
Oct 07, 2024 11:05AM ● By Josh McFadden
Olympus’ Scarlett Wilkinson, a senior on the Titans’ girls volleyball team, has been a leader and top performer this season. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Wilkinson)
Things haven’t gone the Titans’ way in many matches this season, but the Olympus girls volleyball team continues to fight for each other.
Olympus prides itself on having a close-knit group of hard-working players. Even if the results haven’t shown up on the scoreboard every night or in the region standings, Titan players such as Scarlett Wilkinson maintain a positive outlook. Even when times are tough, Wilkinson and her teammates have each other’s backs. She is also grateful for a supportive, dedicated coaching staff.
“I enjoy the competition and dedication you put into the sport and also the friendships I made that I will forever have,” Wilkinson said. “The Olympus girls volleyball team is so special. It has amazing girls on it; we all work really well together and get along, which I will always remember. We also have great coaches that are so fun and motivating.”
The Titans were 4-14 through Sept. 19, with a big match on Sept. 26 at rival Highland. Olympus won one of first four Region 6 matches but had several more opportunities at that juncture to move up the standings and improve its playoff positioning. Olympus played a challenging nonregion schedule, facing talented foes, including three teams from Class 6A.
Head coach Mike Guthrie’s team has worked hard to be competitive. The Titans scored a 3-1 victory at home over Murray in the region opener Sept. 7. The team came up short against West, Brighton and Skyline following that victory. Olympus faces each region opponent twice, concluding with a match at Alta Oct. 29. Skyline, Brighton, East and Alta also pose formidable tests for Olympus, as each team had at least seven victories through the first half of the season.
As a team leader and top performer, Wilkinson has tried to set the pace for her teammates. She set out this season to lead the squad in kills and simply wants to improve from practice to practice and game to game. Once the high schools season ends, she hopes to take what she has learned into club ball and excel there.
“My individual goal is to get the most kills on the team,” she said. “Overall, I really just hope to get better, so going into club season I can show what I’ve learned. To achieve this, I will go to practice and try my hardest every day.”
Guthrie said Wilkinson, a senior outside hitter and captain, brings leadership, production and energy to the court.
“[Wilkinson] is having an outstanding season,” he said. “So far, she has 66 Kills, 13 Service Aces (95% serves in), 77 Digs and 205 Serve Receives. She is one of our most consistent players on our team and leads the way in all she does.”
Though the Titans have suffered some losses, Wilkinson is holding her head high. She said one of her strengths is to stay upbeat even when things aren’t going the team’s way. She tries to help others feed off that mindset.
“I think that I do my job well, and I also like to have a good attitude and uplift everyone and have fun, no matter losing or winning on the court,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson hasn’t been playing volleyball that long, so it’s obvious that she is a fast learner and has natural talent. She began playing competitively as a freshman, though she didn’t go into her ninth-grade year with much inclination to play.
“I decided that I wanted to have a sport through high school, and I saw a flier for girls volleyball, so I decided to try out,” she said.
Guthrie is grateful that Wilkinson saw that flier and has developed into a consistent, all-around player. Last season, the Titans were 7-22 overall and 5-7 in Region 6. During Wilkinson’s sophomore year, Olympus sported a record of 9-15 (5-6 in league play), and the team was 7-8 overall in 2021 when she was a freshman. Wilkinson is striving to help her team finish with a winning region record for the first time in her career.
The Titans are 23rd out of 28 Class 5A teams in the RPI rankings. They would need to climb to the eighth spot to secure a first-round bye or get to No. 16 to have a first-round home match. The 5A state tournament begins Nov. 5 at higher-seeded teams’ home sites. The second round and quarterfinals are Nov. 7 at Utah Valley University, while the semifinals and finals are also at UVU, Nov. 8.
Wilkinson has big plans once she graduates next spring. She doesn’t intend to stop playing competitive volleyball anytime soon either. The standout player wants to attend college either at home in Utah or in California.
“It would be so fun to play volleyball during college, so I’m going to start applying to see if anybody has openings for an outside position,” she said.
The Titans have a young team, so Wilkinson and Guthrie think the future could be bright for the program. As for this season, Wilkinson is looking forward to finishing strong and surprising a few teams in the postseason. Last year, the Titans were seeded 24th and lost in the first round to Viewmont 3-1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-13, 25-15). In the Class 5A state tournament, teams that lose in the first round are done for the year. However, teams that get past the first round are not eliminated until they have lost two matches. λ