Girls volleyball: Morgan’s ‘attitude’ replacing size in latest frontier as defending 3A runner-up
Trojans bounce back for 3-1 road win at Layton to begin the season
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- Morgan High’s Lauren Anderson (1) and Norah Komenda, right, attempt a block on a swing by Layton’s Cali Cluff (7) during a girls volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High’s Jerstyn Payne rises to serve against Layton during a girls volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Layton High’s Ryann Bingham (13) sets for Nisa Young and Lexie Moss during a girls volleyball match against Morgan on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High players gather to celebrate a point during a girls volleyball match against Layton on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Layton High’s Kennedy Henry rises for a touch near the net during a girls volleyball match against Morgan on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High’s Jerstyn Payne passes the ball during a girls volleyball match against Layton on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Layton High players celebrate a point during a girls volleyball match against Morgan on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High’s Brynlee Hanson digs a Layton ball during a girls volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High’s Sierra Nye extends to hit a serve to Layton during a girls volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan High’s Jerstyn Payne kneels to handle a Layton ball during a girls volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Layton High’s Laney Pendleton lets a set go during a girls volleyball match against Morgan on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Layton. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
LAYTON — You can’t buy height, but in 48 years coaching volleyball, Morgan head coach Liz Wiscombe knows a competitor when she sees one.
Consider her latest roster, a Trojan team consisting of seven seniors, big on leadership and short along the net. Morgan, though, powered through an 0-1 start in its Tuesday season opener at Layton for a 3-1 victory.
A 6-foot Josilyn Jaffa, the 2025 All-Area Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, walked the graduation stage with the Class of 2026, but one particular senior returner — libero Jerstyn Payne — looks around the floor and sees a group capable of making another deep run this fall.
Wiscombe and the Trojans (1-0) missed out on the coach’s 24th all-time state title a year ago, but Payne said Morgan is ready to turn the page with returning seniors Lauren Anderson and Norah Komenda, who caused trouble for the Lancers (0-1) from the serving line on Tuesday.
“Our attitude on the court is everything,” Payne said. “We don’t have a ton of height on our team, so we’re all in it together; 24/7, we’re always there for each other, and I definitely think our team chemistry is going to help us so much this year.”
The height question lingers, though, and the answer, Wiscombe said, is doubling down on serve receiving and ensuring Morgan maintains its formation.
While Morgan rebounded from that first dropped set, the Trojans certainly had their hands full over the next three with short bursts at the service line from Layton seniors MaLeah Quinton and Kaymbree Henry. The Lancers rallied and tied the second set at 24-all, and nearly did so again in the third.
“They’ll come; they haven’t had a lot of experience,” Wiscombe said. “Our middles will come, and we’ve just gotta get a good block on the right side. We need to grow. We need to grow about 10 inches.”
Readying themselves for every serve, that’s the key right now, Payne reiterated.
“We aren’t out of system as much as some other teams, which is a huge advantage for us,” Payne said.
Layton has new coach, direction this fall
Kelly Olsen agreed to become the next Layton High girls volleyball coach in early 2026, but just wrangled her entire roster in the same room for the first time last week.
It’s a tricky thing, fall sports, but Olsen’s coached volleyball long enough, and at enough levels, that she has a steady read on talent. Coming over from Centennial Junior High in Kaysville, Olsen’s back in the prep game since moving to Utah from New Hampshire.
After two winning seasons under former Weber State player Hannah DeYoung, the Layton job became available following a disappointing 9-21 result last fall. Albeit a young team, the Lancers opened Tuesday’s season opener as the routine aggressor and leaned on early serving runs by Henry and Quinton, who together combined for 21 aces last year, to get the jump on the defending 3A runner-up.
“I feel like our serve receiving was a lot stronger in that first set, and that’s why we were able to convert and get a lot of points to take that first set,” Olsen said. “Really, that’s just what we want to do is work on our serve receiving and keep us in system.”
Kennedy Henry, a sophomore, and Cali Cluff, another second-year returner for Layton, are a young, promising pair Olsen said opened her eyes a bit in this first outing.
“We have the whole team relying on them to finish the ball, and they really stepped up,” Olsen said of her sophomores up top. “These seniors really made them feel good and supported.”
With a senior Quinton lending a hand up front, Layton switched one of its setters, junior Berlynn Nelson, to libero alongside fellow junior Lexie Moss.
Even with the penciled-in adjustments, Wiscombe left the gym impressed with just how much Layton brought to the table in Game 1.
“We saw (Layton) play at camp, so we knew they’d have some great hitters,” Wiscombe said. “The thing we’re looking at is our side, and we can control that. We’ve gotta work, get better at blocking, but there’s always plenty of things to work on.”
Morgan hosts Sky View on Friday in its first home bout of the season. Layton crosses the street to take on rival Northridge in search of its first win.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
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