High school boys volleyball: Morgan dethrones Grantsville in five-set 3A championship thriller

Resilience was the theme of No. 3 Morgan’s postseason run, particularly in the quarterfinal against American Heritage where it survived a 2-1 set deficit. The Trojans also dropped their first set in the semifinal against Salt Lake Academy but won three straight to take the 3-1 lead.

By the time it dropped the fourth set in a close 33-31 score, Morgan knew it had what it took to be resilient once more and take the 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 31-33 and 15-13 win in the 3A championship against defending champion Grantsville.

“It was all-around A-Team effort that last set,” said senior Jack Komenda. Komenda led the Trojans with 20 kills in the championship match. “Obviously we were really tired at the end, but we pushed through and came out with a dub. So super excited and grateful for this opportunity.”

Grantsville was the Cinderella team in this year’s state tournament despite being the defending champions. The Cowboys entered as the eighth seed but made it to the championship, beating No. 5 seed North Sanpete and top-seeded Ogden on the way.

1 of 26

2 of 26

3 of 26

4 of 26

5 of 26

6 of 26

7 of 26

8 of 26

9 of 26

10 of 26

11 of 26

12 of 26

13 of 26

14 of 26

15 of 26

16 of 26

17 of 26

18 of 26

19 of 26

20 of 26

21 of 26

22 of 26

23 of 26

24 of 26

25 of 26

26 of 26

The Cowboys kept their momentum going with a 25-23 first-set win and put Morgan on its back foot. The Trojans defense started to come alive in the second and third sets. Madden Bell led the defense on the net with 12 blocks, but Caleb Stephens and Komenda added 11 and 10 blocks, respectively, helping Morgan win both the second and third sets 25-21.

Grantsville kept a small lead through the fourth set and earned a 24-22 lead. Morgan crawled back to a 25-24 lead and a chance to clinch the championship. The Cowboys and Trojans fought back and forth, with Morgan earning three separate set points but it never capitalized.

Grantsville’s Hunter Powell helped in keeping it alive in the fourth set with kill after kill. Powell also had a block on a Morgan set point to tie the game at 30-30. The Cowboys eventually pushed the game to a fifth set with a 33-31 fourth-set win.

“We were tired at the beginning and near the end of the fifth set and the fourth,” Komenda said. “We got it. We kept pushing through and came out with that dub.”

Komenda played nearly the entire game and his dad and head coach, Kyle Komenda, knew Jack needed some rest.

“He gut(ted) it out, it wasn’t easy,” said Kyle Komenda. “(I) even pulled him out. It was like I had to yank him out of the game, but he needed to sit and get his legs back. He just literally left everything on the floor.”

With an 8-8 tie and a 3A crown on the line, Coach Komenda knew it was time to put Jack back on the floor. Morgan immediately was rewarded with three scores at the hands of Jack, which helped lead to a 12-10 lead.

“He needed to be on the front row, we need him on the front row,” said Kyle Komenda. “We’ve got some really capable players that we’re really excited about. We’re bringing them back next season and I’m like, ‘You know what? No better experience than getting into the game right now and see what you can do in the state championship.’ And they responded beautifully and gave him a chance at resting his legs.”

As the final ball fell and Morgan solidified its 15-13 fifth-set win, the emotions were out immediately for the Trojans as they knew their goal of winning a state championship was over.

“We know there’s a legacy here and that’s part of the reason why I agreed to coach this team and it’s the challenge we wanted to take,” Kyle Komenda said. “It was our goal last season, we fell short, so that was our motto all year, ‘unfinished business.’”