Boys volleyball: Ogden takes rubber match with Morgan to win 3rd place in 3A tournament
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- Ogden’s Aaron Butler (2) takes a swing during a 3A boys volleyball state semifinal match against Grantsville on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan’s Dex Wallin, center, passes the ball in a 3A boys volleyball state semifinal match against North Sanpete on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
OREM — Trailing 18-15 in the deciding set of their final match of the 2024 season, the Ogden Tigers needed a boost.
They got that boost in the form of sophomore Keen Crowther.
Crowther served nine straight points, including four aces, as the Tigers reeled off 10 straight points and sped to the finish of a 2-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-18) consolation victory against region foe Morgan on Saturday. With the win, Ogden claimed third place in the 3A boys volleyball state tournament at the UCCU Center.
Nothing like a little service pressure to turn things around.
“Keen does a great job serving,” Ogden coach Tim Wright said. “He locked in and we’re glad he did. We had a timeout and we just talked a lot with the players about if they really wanted this. We’re here, and we can choose to go out or we can choose to do our best and put pressure on the other team.”
The two teams, which split a pair of matches during the regular season, were playing again after disappointing results in the semifinals. The Tigers were swept by eventual champion and No. 1 seed Grantsville (28-26, 25-18, 27-25) and Morgan lost 3-1 to No. 2 seed North Sanpete (25-9, 25-16, 23-25, 25-16).
“We had a conversation about the Grantsville loss,” Wright said. “We talked about having five seconds to forget and move on. We use that as a rule. We told them, ‘You’ve got this amount of time to think about and process it. Then when you’re done we’re moving on to the next game, because that’s our new focus.'”
Ogden played well in winning the first set but Morgan responded by taking Set 2, with freshman Caleb Stephens firing an ace at set point to force the third set.
Morgan’s strong play continued in Set 3 and the Trojans forged a 16-11 lead on a kill from Madden Bell. At 18-15, Crowther stepped to the service line and the momentum changed in a hurry. Three straight aces from Crowther pushed Ogden to a 20-18 lead and another ace gave the Tigers match point at 24-18. Gavin Ording got the game-winning attack to secure the third-place finish.
“This year has been a lot of fun,” Wright said. “We had a lot of kids who have never played volleyball come out. The thing I’m most proud of — and we had a great season — but every single player loved to play the game. They love the sport. That’s really what we want. They see how fun it can be and they can see what it’s like to play. It was fun to be a part of that and to help more and more people see just what a great sport this is.”
Ogden, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, finished the season with a 15-12 record. Morgan, the No. 6 seed, completed its season at 13-10 and earned fourth place at the tournament.
Layton Christian (20-7), the No. 6 seed in the Class 4A Tournament at the UCCU Center, lost to No. 8 Mountain View 2-0 (25-20, 25-19) on Saturday and took seventh place.
