High school volleyball: 3A state tournament Day 1 recap — Morgan, Ogden, Grantsville and North Sanpete advance to semifinals
3A quarterfinals
For everything that went wrong for No. 6 seed Morgan in the first two sets against No. 3 seed American Leadership in the 3A quarterfinals on Friday, suddenly everything went right the rest of the match.
The Trojans improved their execution and dug themselves out of a big hole as they rallied 17-20, 20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-8 to secure its place in Saturday’s 3A semifinals against North Sanpete.
“It’s just the realization that if we don’t take this next set we’re done. All of a sudden, that normally snaps them out of there pretty effectively. Proud of the way they responded. I knew they had that in them because we’ve done it before,” said Morgan coach Kyle Komenda.
Jack Komenda had another big game to key the rally for Morgan as he tallied 18 kills, with Christian Nunez adding eight kills and 10 blocks.
After Morgan regrouped in the third set, coach Komenda said his players refused to relinquish momentum.
“We had such a strong third set that we had the momentum and we were greedy with that momentum and didn’t let it go,” he said.
Freshman setter Caleb Stephens dished out 36 assists in the win, with Dex Wallin contributing six blocks, six kills and three digs.
Ogden had to dig deep for its sweep of Salt Lake Academy in the 3A quarterfinals at UVU on Friday. After winning the first set, the Tigers fell behind by seven in the second set, and that’s when coach Tim Wright said all the mental work his players have done throughout the season about handling pressure situations paid off.
No. 5 seed Ogden regrouped to win the second set, and then completed the sweep of No. 4 Salt Lake Academy 25-18, 28-26, 25-22.
“We’ve been working a lot on that mental situation down the stretch when it’s the pressure of 24-24, 24-25 and just keep playing, and so mentally we’ve grown and we kept playing regardless of what the score was,” said Wright.
Case Crowther had a great game running the offense, finishing with 33 assists to go along with his three kills and three aces for Ogden. Keen Crowther led the attack with 14 kills and five digs, with Rome Carver chipping in with four kills and two blocks.
Wright said there was a lot of excitement leading up to the state tournament, and specifically about trying to make it to Day 2 in the winners bracket. Now that the Tigers are there, they face No. 1 seed Grantsville in the semifinals on Saturday.
“We lost to them in four both times. Grantsville is a great team. We fought with them every time, and I hope that the stuff we’ve been working on is enough to make that difference,” said Wright.
Tournament favorite Grantsville got off to a resounding start in the 3A quarterfinals at UVU on Friday. The Cowboys jumped out fast in the first two sets against No. 8 Carbon, building early momentum it carried to book its place in Saturday’s semifinals with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-17 victory.
Grantsville coach Kelli Rexford said there was a lot of excitement for the players about playing the first boys volleyball state tournament game in state history.
“Obviously they were nervous, they haven’t been here before, but they were excited and really, really wanting to win and play their game,” said Rexford.
Ethan Powell had a great all-around game for Grantsville with 15 kills and three blocks, with Decker Dzierzon recording 12 kills and three blocks of his own. Earlier this season in a game at Carbon, Grantsville started off slow in dropping the first set before rallying to win in four. Rexford made sure her players were focused from the outset after it was the only team in the 3A tournament to have a first-round bye in the Friday morning games.
“This morning, I think there was a really good atmosphere, and they were like ‘OK, enough silly business’ and so they were just ready to work. So we’re really focused at this stage of staying up, staying loud and being excited and hyped,” said Rexford.
With the win, Grantsville advances to Saturday’s semifinals to face Ogden.
North Sanpete 3, Utah Military Hillfield 0
No. 2 seed North Sanpete marched through another round of the 3A state tournament at UVU on Friday in convincing fashion with a 25-18, 25-12, 25-16 win over seventh-seed Utah Military Hill Field.
Coach Austin Ison said the communication through the match was great from his team, which advances to Saturday’s 3A semifinals.
“They’re just excited to play for their school finally and get to represent their school and come compete for the first 3A championship,” said Ison.
Sophomore setter Sean Allred had another big game for the Hawks as he recorded 30 assists to go along with his five digs and two aces. “All season long he’s been fantastic setter. He’s only a sophomore. We’re really proud of him. He’s contributed a lot to our success. In that game he put up good ball after good ball for our hitters to hit,” said Ison.
North Sanpete’s Jackson Wilkey had a great all-around game in the win as he recorded 21 kills, four blocks and four digs. Dallin Jensen chipped in with eight kills, 10 digs and three blocks.
3A second round
No. 8 seed Carbon beat No. 9 seed Wasatch Academy 25, 20, 25-22, 25-20 in the 3A first round as the Dinos march onto the quarterfinals at UVU. Senior Zeke Willson had a big game for Carbon with nine kills, five assists and one block, with junior Evan Lancaster adding eight kills, two assists and two solo blocks. Carbon senior Jack Hedin contributed 12 kills in the win.
After sweeping Ben Lomond twice in region play, No. 5 seed Ogden did the same thing in the opening round of the 3A state tournament at UVU on Monday, prevailing 25-15, 25-12, 25-9 to advance past the No. 12 seed Scots and into the quarterfinals. Sophomore Keen Crowther led the Tigers with 12 kills and two aces, while senior middle blocker Aaron Butler chipped in with six kills and four blocks. Case Crowther led the offense with 27 assists.
North Sanpete 3, Utah Military Camp Williams 0
No. 2 seed North Sanpete jumped all over No. 15 seed Utah Military Camp Williams for the easy 25-13, 25-13, 25-11 win in the 3A first round at UVU on Friday. Dallyn Jenson led the attack for the Hawks with 11 kills to go along with his six digs. Jackson Wilkey and Carson Bench each added seven kills for North Sanpete, with Wilkey also recording 10 digs.
Salt Lake Academy 3, Juan Diego 0
No. 4 Salt Lake Academy made quick work of No. 13 seed Juan Diego in the opening round of the 3A state tournament, 25-12, 25-19, 25-18. Junior Devin Bush led the offense for the Griffins with great passing throughout the match, with junior Juan Zuniga benefitting with nine kills to go along with his four aces. Bush also had two aces and two kills. Senior Elias Schnaars contributed five blocks and two blocks.
Utah Military Hillfield 3, Freedom Prep Academy 0
No. 7 seed Utah Military Hill Field was clutch when it needed to be late in sets as it beat No. 10 seed Freedom Prep 27-25, 25-16, 26-14 in the first round of the 3A state tournament at UVU. Sky Amboy played strong defense for the Thunderbirds with 15 digs, with Quincey Butler contributing 10 kills and Vincent Butler nine aces.
American Heritage top attacker Will Beckham had another strong game for the third-seeded Patriots as they beat No. 14 seed Dugway 25-17, 25-13, 25-17 in the 3A first round. Joey Hammond played strong defense as well, according to coach Robert Mendenhall, with Brock Maxfield setting a strong game.
No. 6 seed Morgan eased past No. 11 Judge Memorial in the first round of the 3A state tournament at UVU, 25-18, 25-7, 25-14. Jack Komenda tallied 11 kills, while Christian Nunez added seven kills and four blocks to lead the Trojans. Caleb Stephens chipped in with 28 assists and three aces.
