All-Area Team of the Year: After early rough patch, Morgan returned to the top of 3A
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- Morgan High’s volleyball team celebrates beating Richfield to win the 3A state championship on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 at Utah Valley University.
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- Morgan High’s Halley Torman (3) and Amaya Rogers (4) jump to block a shot during a prep volleyball match at Ogden High on Sept. 22, 2022.
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- Morgan High’s Alyvia Jaffa hits a shot during a prep volleyball match at Ogden on Sept. 22, 2022.
One of the many signs that Morgan High’s volleyball program is one of the most respected in the state is that many people inside and outside the program were flat-out floored the Trojans lost three straight state championship games from 2019-21.
Understandably, head coach Liz Wiscombe said the team “desperately” wanted to triumph this year after those three straight losses, all of which came against Union.
One may have been able to tell the Trojans were out for a championship by how they practiced leading up to the 3A state tournament.
“You could just feel it. You could feel them pushing each other and all of them getting better, and practice was a blast two weeks before state. Yeah, it was so much fun,” Wiscombe said. “A lot of times it gets mundane and blah — no, couldn’t wait to get in the gym and the kids were so excited to be in there.”
So when the Trojans beat Richfield back in October’s state championship game, the triumph was that much sweeter. A senior class that had only known defeat in the season’s final game finally experienced elation.
The state title capped a 25-6 season that saw the Trojans win another unbeaten Region 13 title.
Morgan is the 2022 Standard-Examiner All-Area Volleyball Team of the Year.
Morgan returned most of its key players from the 2021 season including Alyvia Jaffa, a 6-foot-2 junior middle blocker who’s committed to Utah Valley University, two-year starting setter Timberlee Peterson and starting libero Rachel Anderson.
The Trojans also got a move-in, outside hitter Grace Thomsen, who had played the previous three years at Union, will end up graduating high school with four volleyball state championships and was second on the team in kills behind Jaffa.
Jaffa was undoubtedly the biggest — literally — problem for other teams to deal with. A year after posting 378 kills with a .284 hitting percentage, she put up 398 in 2022 as both the team’s leader in kills and hitting percentage (.295).
Her biggest impact may have been on the defensive end, with 141 total blocks (27 solo) and countless other times where she either altered a hit or deterred one.
“Getting the ball to Jaffa, that’s crucial. She has to get a lot of touches,” Wiscombe said after Morgan gutted out a five-set win at Ogden on Sept. 22.
After a good camp in the summer, Wiscombe felt good about the team’s potential and chemistry at the start of the year.
Then they started the season 1-3 — though, granted, the three losses were against Sky View, Bountiful and Davis, teams who eventually landed at the Nos. 1, 1 and 5 seeds in their respective state tournaments in classifications larger than Morgan’s.
“And I’m so glad we did (play tough teams) because that’s where you really find out what you’ve got to work on and the areas that you really need to improve and focus on the rest of the year,” Wiscombe said.
Still, the 1-3 start was the impetus for change. Morgan went from using one setter, Peterson, to two setters with sophomore Emma Thurston splitting time because the Trojans needed a bigger block on the outside.
Peterson acknowledged it was awkward initially, but she took the change in stride and Wiscombe praised Peterson for doing so.
“It was a little hard at first, but it was good and it was good for the team. We needed a big block up there and that’s why we were so successful this year,” Peterson said after the state championship match in October.
Peterson finished the season with 383 assists and Thurston had 382. Morgan ended up as one of the better blocking teams in 3A.
The lineup change wasn’t the only reason for the Trojans’ success, but it helped them win another unbeaten region championship, earn the No. 1 seed in the state tournament and win it all. The gamble of splitting playing time at setter could’ve backfired, but it paid off.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.