Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Morgan High School won its first 3A boys volleyball title, defeating Grantsville.
- Jack Komenda led with 18 kills and 10 blocks, coached by his father.
- Morgan's coach emphasized the team's legacy and "unfinished business" from last season.
OREM — It wasn't just exhaustion that overtook Morgan senior Jack Komenda when the ball fell to the floor on the final kill of his high school career.
Relief, sure, and fatigue after a five-set thriller. But also a wave of family emotions.
The 6-foot-8 senior poured in 18 kills and 10 blocks as the Trojans fought back for a 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 31-33, 15-13 win over defending champion Grantsville in the 3A boys volleyball state championship Thursday at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University.
Every one of them was a fight, including three-in-a-row that helped turn a 10-9 deficit into a 13-10 advantage in the decisive fifth set.
By the end of it, he wanted one thing: a hug from his dad (who also happens to be his head coach).
"He's the one who brought me to play volleyball. He's been my coach my entire life," Komenda said. "I'm super grateful for him."
Madden Bell added 12 kills and Caleb Stephens dished out 53 assists for the Trojans (23-8) who added a boys' volleyball title to the school's state-record 20 championships by the girls' team.
One down, 19 to go.
"We know there's a legacy here, and it's part of the reason why I agreed to coach this team," the second-year coach of the newly sanctioned sport said. "It's the challenge I wanted to take.
"It was our goal last season, and we fell short," he added. "That was our motto this year: unfinished business. And now we finished it."
Komenda likes the team he has coming back next year, with Stephens one of four underclassmen on the varsity roster. But he admits it won't be the same as this year's team.
In some ways, he says with a laugh, it might be easier; he won't play the dual-role of coach and father.
"It didn't matter what the outcome was; I love this boy," said Kyle Komenda, who comes from a volleyball family including younger brother Jacob who played at BYU. "He's given everything not just for me, but for his teammates and for the people up in the stands. I couldn't be prouder of what he did to gut it out."
Grantsville (16-16) punched first, jumping out to a 14-10 lead in the first set and pushing the edge as high as five. Back-to-back aces by Ryker Field cut Morgan's deficit to two, but a pair of errors helped the Cowboys take the 25-23 win on a swing by Hunter Powell.
Isaac Nordgren, the senior setter who finished with 29 assists, landed a kill from the back row to lift Grantsville to a 14-9 lead in the second set. The Trojans trailed by as much as six before tying the match on David Thomsen's ace, 17-17.
Jack Komenda, who is also a team captain, then took over with a block and a massive kill as Morgan scored six in a row to take a 24-20 advantage en route to a 25-21 second-set victory.
Komenda took over in the third set, scoring on a kill, a block and another kill in succession as the Trojans pulled away for a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead on David Thomsen's solo block.
Neither team led by more than three in the fourth set, and Nordgren's serve led to Grantsville's 23-20 lead late in the set.
Joshua DeMond tied the set at 24-apiece, and Morgan had two match-point opportunities. That was before Grantsville picked itself up off the mat and rallied to extend the match, 33-31 on a kill by Powell.
"We were tired in that fourth set," said Jack Komenda, who will serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Milan, Italy before deciding on playing in college. "But we just kept pushing through, and came out with that dub."
