Doubling down: Morgan revels in second boys volleyball state championship
Wangsgard brothers, Trojans deny Ogden for a second time this season in 3A postseason finale
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- Kevin Wangsgard of Morgan High hoists the championship trophy with his teammates after defeating Ogden in the 3A boys volleyball state final Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan’s Kevin Wangsgard, left, attempts to angle a shot past the block of Ogden’s Keen Crowther during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s Kos Crowther, right, swings against the block of Morgan’s Joshua DeMond during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden High’s Van Hunt (27) and Kos Crowther (7) attempt to block a Morgan hit during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan High players celebrate after defeating Ogden High during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s James Taukiuvea tries in vain to dig a loose ball against Morgan during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s Aiden Holbrook (6) is consoled by teammates after his team lost to Morgan during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s James Taukiuvea reacts with disappointment after his team lost to Morgan during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan High players run onto the court to celebrate winning the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s Kos Crowther reaches to the ball during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan’s Max Warr (34) hits into the block of Ogden’s Jed Van Tassell during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden libero Aiden Holbrook lunges past the court to rescue a loose ball against Morgan during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan’s Kevin Wangsgard (17) tries to hit over the block of Ogden’s Jed Van Tassell, left, and James Taukiuvea during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden’s Keen Crowther, center, hits the ball past the block of Morgan’s David Thomsen (14) and Kevin Wangsgard (17) during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan libero Caleb Stephens bumps an Ogden hit during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan blockers Joshua DeMond and Kevin Wangsgard rise to the ball during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Ogden High’s Kos Crowther (7) swings at the ball while Morgan’s Kevin Wangsgard (17) and Max Warr (34) jump to block during the 3A boys volleyball state championship match Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem.
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- Morgan High seniors Bentley Cantwell, Troy Tatton, Kevin Wangsgard, Joshua DeMond, Denja Sisson and Marcus Wilde pose with the 3A boys volleyball state championship trophy on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the UCCU Center in Orem
OREM — On Saturday night, Morgan High’s Kevin Wangsgard was seeing flashbacks.
A year since doing it as a junior, the senior swam through a crowd of his teammates to hoist the 3A boys volleyball state championship trophy for a second time.
Mere moments earlier, Wangsgard denied Keen Crowther and No. 1 Ogden High at the net for match point after battling with his six fellow seniors to prove their place as the best in the state.
“It’s an unreal feeling,” Wangsgard said after a 3-1 win (25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 25-21) over the Tigers in the 3A final at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center.
Official game stats weren’t immediately available after Morgan’s second title victory in the first three years of UHSAA-sanctioned boys volleyball, but Wangsgard was ubiquitous along the front lines all night long for the Trojans, finishing its title run at 20-11 overall as the No. 2 seed.
Saturday’s 3A finals unraveled oppositely of the matchup’s previous regular-season meeting, which saw the Trojans climb out of a 2-1 start for a 3-2 win on Senior Night in Morgan. Ogden entered the finals with every motivation, too, after coming up short two years in a row.
Morgan and Ogden (21-7) closed the regular season tied for first in the 3A North region at 7-1.
“Last year, Grantsville is not the same competition as Ogden,” Wangsgard said. “It definitely pissed us off that we didn’t get the No. 1 seed, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter.”
Ogden swept the Trojans at home to begin April, and Morgan coach Kyle Komenda wanted the pair’s latest match back in Morgan County to be fresh in mind after both squads flew into the finals on Saturday.
“They’re tough. We’ve taken lumps from them before,” Komenda said. “I feel like we’ve turned a corner and we weren’t going to back down. I mean, honestly, it was easier to stay motivated against them because they’re our rivals.
“They punched us in the face that second set and it was like, well, let’s show ’em we can take it.”
Punch back, Morgan did.
Wangsgard, with an assist from his younger brother, Nate Wangsgard, led Morgan to a 1-0 lead. Ogden snapped right back in the second set, converting a 3-1 start into a nine-point victory at the hands of freshman James Taukiuvea and sophomore Trayven Olivieri.
Ogden, down by as much as six in the third set, climbed back into the fight with a reversed point and an extended rally topped with an ace by sophomore Kos Crowther — weighing Morgan’s lead down to one point with match point looming.
“Morgan had a huge lead on us and it’s really easy to just give up and be done,” Ogden coach Tim Wright said. “We went and they fought back… I was so proud that they were able to take that, reset and get going.
“I just think Morgan does a great job. They’ve got some strong hitters and our blocking defense did help us at times, it did hurt us at times, and so I think just maybe a few more points either way would’ve made a big difference.”
Fellow senior Joshua DeMond lined Kevin Wangsgard up for an undeniable kill to earn that coveted fourth set and placed Ogden’s comeback hopes that much farther away.
“We came back harder,” said Kevin Wangsgard, who is slated to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina after graduation, about his team’s decisive stand in the third set.
Morgan’s defense rose above drawbacks, Wangsgard said, in the final set. Junior blocker David Thomsen made key receptions down the stretch of the match, and he, and freshman Ben Komenda, answered when it counted.
Unforced errors — including two late slips by Taukiuvea costing two points, and two net plays by Kos Crowther — cost Ogden in the end, and the Wangsgards pounded the Tigers as blockers in the final series to stake down the state title.
“Our defense hasn’t been very good this whole season, but this game we ended up turning it up,” Kevin Wangsgard said. “Our block was the best it’s been all season. I’m so proud of everybody. … I know the potential they have, I’m really hard on them; sometimes it gets a little hard but they’re going to be unreal when they’re seniors.”
Saturday marked Ogden’s first loss since April 23, the emblematic Morgan road loss and one of just four road defeats this season for Wright’s Tigers. In three seasons, Wright has placed each of his teams in the state quarterfinals or farther with a 54-26 record as head coach.
“What’s important is that we, as a team, understand that one game — yes, the championship — doesn’t define us,” Wright said. “It doesn’t define the success we’ve had this season, and it doesn’t define us as a team. … Every single set, I was proud that we stayed with them.”
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
