Morgan High volleyball loses 5-set heartbreaker in 3A state championship (2024)

OREM — One by one, the Morgan High volleyball players exited the locker room, said a few words to head coach Liz Wiscombe and walked down the brutalist-style, concrete hallway.

There wasn’t a dry eye to be seen.

One player apologized to Wiscombe for screwing up the final point of the 3A state volleyball championship. Wiscombe had none of it and reminded the player about all the other points that even got the Trojans that close.

These were the emotions underneath Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center after No. 2 Morgan (25-7) lost a five-set heartbreaker to No. 1 Emery in Thursday night’s championship match.

Emery (29-4), which won its first volleyball state title since 1996, defeated Morgan 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12 to prevent the Trojans from repeating as champions and winning the school’s 21st state volleyball championship.

“I told them to hold their head up,” Wiscombe said. “They’re a class act. This is a great group of kids. They played with a lot of heart, they gave everything they had. I’m proud of them and it’s a blessing every day for me to go into work.”

Morgan blocked well in its semifinal sweep over Union earlier Thursday afternoon, but it didn’t carry over as well early on in a championship match that was a Trojan War, so to speak, against the Emery Spartans.

A big part of that was Emery outside hitter Abby Morris, who pasted kill after kill to the back third of the court all night and won points most of the times she rose in the air to hit.

“And we got some blocks on her, did well, but they stayed together too, they battled and they were a good team,” Wiscombe said of Emery.

From about the midway point of the first set, Emery led by anywhere from 2-6 points and won the opening frame 25-20. Morgan got within 20-19 until Emery won four straight points with big hits combined with Trojans’ errors.

“It’s just crazy that it’s over,” said senior Alyvia Jaffa, who’s committed to UVU’s Division-I volleyball team. “I feel like it went very far, but I’m proud of the way the team fought this season. I’m proud of (my sister) Jos (Jaffa) and getting to play with her and yeah, it’s been fun.”

No one led in the second set by more than two points until the very end when Jaffa’s big hit made it 23-20. The teams traded misses before Jaffa put away set point to even the match.

Morgan went on an 11-2 run in the third set to take an 18-15 lead, then Morris woke up again for Emery and put the Spartans ahead 20-18. Keira Brewer’s hit got the Trojans within 24-23, then Emma Thurston’s serve sailed long and Emery won the set.

Emery twice appeared on the verge of blowing out the fourth set until Morgan collected itself both times. Gentry Criddle, who singlehandedly won four points in a row in the first set, took control late in the fourth.

Her big hit on the left side made it 21-20 for Morgan, then she got a tip kill (23-21), another big hit (24-21) and a tip kill on set point.

“I think we started off slow, we tend to do that, but I think we have so much heart. We could’ve given up that fourth set easy,” Jaffa said. “But we battled back, and yeah, we got that set and just fell a few points short, but I’m proud of the way our team battled.”

Nothing quite kicks a volleyball team’s nerves into high gear like playing a fifth set, especially in a state championship. Errors and big plays are magnified when the first team to hit 15 points wins instead of the first team to 25.

Emery was 7-1 in five-set matches coming in while Morgan hadn’t played a five-setter all year.

Jaffa, who put down a lot of her trademark hits and big blocks throughout the match, smoked a huge hit to put Morgan ahead 12-11 in the decider, then hit a serve in the net for 12-12.

Morris, who Emery coach Ferd Allred called dependable, had a huge hit that tipped off Trojans’ blockers and went out to put the Spartans ahead.

In the end, the ball, which had hit the floor so many times already, cleanly found the floor once more two points later.

OGDEN LOSES IN CONSOLATION BRACKET

No. 7 Ogden High’s volleyball team bowed out of the state tournament early Thursday morning with a straight-sets, 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 loss to No. 11 North Sanpete.

The Tigers end the year with a 19-13 record, their fourth straight winning season.

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.

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