High school boys volleyball: Morgan repeats as 3A state champion

Morgan won its second consecutive 3A state title with a 3-1 win over rival Ogden on Saturday.

The Trojans were led by seven seniors: Reed Caldwell, Joshua DeMond, Kevin Wangsgard, Bentley Cantwell, Denja Sisson, Marcus Wilde, and Troy Tatton.

Head coach Kyle Komenda said of his graduating group, “I’m just happy for them. Some of these guys have been with us the whole time. They are culture-setters. Even if they are not on the floor, they are a big part of what we do.”

Morgan started out on the right foot Saturday by winning the first set, something it hadn’t been able to do in either of the previous matchups with Ogden this season.

It was a tight first set, but the Trojans pulled ahead at the end thanks to seven kills from Wangsgard. He finished the match with 21 kills and a .377 hitting percentage.

Ogden tied it up with a dominant second set, but Komenda trusted his team to turn it back around. More importantly, his team trusted each other on the court.

“I think it’s a testament to how together they are,” Komenda said. “If you can get them playing as a team, believing in themselves as a team and loving each other as a team, that is where that comes from.”

Morgan exemplified those principles to perfection in the third and fourth sets en route to a repeat as state champions. The Trojans had several standout performers, but Kevin and Nate Wangsgard and David Thomsen were especially bright.

Nate Wangsgard finished with seven kills, six blocks and 16 digs. Thomsen added 14 blocks and four kills of his own.

Komenda said of the repeat, “It’s awesome. It’s just awesome. You got it one time and you (think) ‘I want to do this again’. These young men, they want it, and you’ve got to make sure that you’re there for them.”