One of just four seniors back, Broadbent is adjusting to full-time libero minutes with aplomb now three wins into Weber’s regular season following a 3-1 home win over neighboring 5A West Field on Thursday. The fourth-year letterman and defensive specialist is a key fixture of Renae Birch’s back line this fall.

Broadbent’s team-high 18 digs and six aces at the line led the way for a three-set comeback after dropping the opening set to the Longhorns.

“We’ve definitely had some easier wins, and this was definitely a challenge; and we were ready for it,” Broadbent, a volleyball player since sixth grade, said Thursday.

One such opportunity came in the form of young, hungry West Field, which pinned the Warriors (3-0) 24-all in a crucial fourth set.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

The crowd treated the match like a live auction all evening, but the quietest part of the match arrived when opposing cousins, Weber’s Bradey Schiffman and West Field’s Ainsley Schiffman, waited for the official ruling on a ball played between them on the outside corner of the net.

An official ruled the play null and requested a fresh serve from Weber, which lost the next point for a 24-all stalemate. Two serves later, Broadbent and the Warriors celebrated their first home win of the 2026 campaign.

“She’s helped me grow as a player mentally and staying tough through the high-energy situations,” Broadbent said of Birch, her coach.

Five seasons in as Weber’s head coach, Birch has molded Broadbent as a defensive-minded competitor since she was a freshman. She’s now reaping the rewards of her senior’s development in big-time matches.

“I really like to teach like, hey, we’re even-keeled, we’re playing to our levels, whatever’s going on,” Birch said. “… I think we did a good job of staying level-headed and composed on the six players that’re on the floor instead of what was going on in the stands or across the floor.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Thursday marked the first set given up by Weber this season, with the Longhorns — led by Ainsley Schiffman with 13 total kills and digs in the loss — claiming the first set with an extra push at 26-24 to begin the match.

Trailing, though, isn’t a foreign concept to Broadbent or the Warriors; Broadbent and fellow captain Scarlett Smith, the team’s lead setter, aren’t worried about wasting time with who missed what or which return didn’t align with who, Broadbent said.

As soon as they identify a mistake, that’s how quickly they want the chance to amend it.

“I want this season to be about being a family,” Broadbent said. “We’ve all been together for a long time, so I think just living in the moment and playing for one another. It’s when we calm down and play our usual (game) that we can come back, point by point.”

At first glance, the term “DS,” or defensive specialist, can catch anyone off guard, even a sports reporter. Although a libero is a distinctly different position, it’s one that can fulfill that of a back-row player without subbing limits.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

You’d better hope that a player who rarely leaves the floor brings the right message, and Birch is confident in what Broadbent brings to her position.

“We kind of give (Broadbent) half the floor to go play defense on, just because she’s so rangey and then she just has a good, positive energy,” Birch said. “She’s a dream to coach.”

Weber returns to action on Tuesday, Aug. 18, hosting Clearfield. West Field plays the same night, hosting Bountiful.

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.

West Field celebrates a point scored during a girls volleyball contest at Weber High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Pleasant View. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)

West Field's Kalli Bremser goes up for a block during a girls volleyball contest at Weber High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Pleasant View. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)

West Field coach Jantzen Ryan pictured during a girls volleyball contest at Weber High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Pleasant View. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)

Weber's Bradey Schiffman goes up to serve the ball to West Field during a girls volleyball contest at Weber High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Pleasant View. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)

Weber's Kambree Anderson fires the ball toward West Field's Ainsley Schiffman during a girls volleyball contest at Weber High School on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Pleasant View. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)