By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights setter Clara Morgan is closing in on 1,000 assists in her high school volleyball career. She figures to eclipse the mark this weekend at a tournament in Manhattan, overcoming significant obstacles along the way.
Shawnee Heights junior Clara Morgan is on the brink of reaching the 1,000-assist mark for her career. [Submitted photo]
The fact that Morgan is just halfway through her junior season puts the accomplishment in a special light. Starting on varsity since her freshman year has allowed her to rack up a lot of assists early in her career.
Making the feat all the more impressive is that Morgan plays in a 6-2 set, a Shawnee Heights tradition that rotates two setters instead of relying upon just one. Because she is not the team’s sole setter, Morgan has to make the most of her opportunities.
The third obstacle Morgan has overcome is the most significant. Her father passed away when she was nine years old.
“Losing him, he was a really big guy on sports, so he was like my dad but also my coach,” said Morgan, who is also a member of the T-Bird softball team. “I really relied on him. So, him passing, I really grieved with it, but I know he’s left me some good key lessons, and he’s always in the back of my head. When I’m playing, I’ll think of him and everything he taught me.
“I wish he could have seen this. He was never big on volleyball. When I was young, I was big on softball. But if he saw me now, I think he’d be really proud of me.”
Morgan said she finds support in two sources: her faith and her mother.
Before every game, the junior writes Bible verses on her taped wrists. Her go-to verse: Psalm 37:24, which she personalizes.
“‘Though she falls, she will not fail because the Lord supports her with his hand.’ I think that verse really helps especially in volleyball because it’s a game full of mistakes,” Morgan said. “I think, if you make a mistake, I can look down at my wrist and think He’s there to catch me.
“When things get hectic or people are yelling a lot of things at you, I can look down at my wrist and just say the verse in my head and it helps.”
The youngest of four children, Morgan praises her mother, Darlene Morgan, for her support on and off the court.
“When she can’t make a game, I totally understand, as the only parent in the household,” Morgan said. “She does a great job and when she can’t make it, she will send me a prayer over text, and I know she will be watching on Facebook.”
Junior Clara Morgan has overcome personal obstacles to become a standout for Shawnee Heights volleyball. [Submitted photo]
As the T-Birds’ setter, Morgan serves as an extension of her coach, Sami (McHenry) Kearney, a former standout at Shawnee Heights and Washburn in her own right.
“(Coach) is not on the court with you, so I get to help everyone stay calm and tell the hitters what they’re running,” Morgan said. “You’re basically giving instructions of what you think the coach would do if she was in there.”
Morgan’s coach put the junior’s assist total in perspective.
“One thousand assists as a junior is a huge deal,” Kearney said. “That means she is averaging over 300 assists per season and averaging about 10 assist per game. We haven’t had this accomplishment at Shawnee Heights since 2019.
“Because we run a 6-2, she’s in the game about two-thirds of the time, where other setters getting 1,000 assists are the only setter in their games. So, for her to reach this as a junior is a huge accomplishment. It shows how good she is and how she makes us all better because of it.”
Morgan likened the position of setter to a football quarterback. She even donned a Tom Brady jersey for a recent practice.
“I like it that I get to touch the ball every play and run the court,” Morgan said. “I decide who the ball goes to. Like a quarterback, you get to make the calls and the plays.”
“She’s been our starting setter for the past three years and we look to her for her leadership and for her work ethic,” Kearney said. “Clara is always positive. Even when we are down, she is always staying positive. She puts a lot of pressure on herself to do well and is a true competitor. She comes in every day wanting to get better, not just for herself, but so that she can make her teammates better.”
Kearney expects Morgan to eclipse the 1,000-assist mark at a grueling tournament in which the T-Birds will play matches against 6A opponents Manhattan, Olathe East, Derby, Junction City and Washburn Rural. That gauntlet is indicative of the team’s whole schedule. Kearney said there’s more to the story than the T-Birds’ 14-13 record.
“We don’t talk much about our record,” Kearney said. “I tell them that I want them to play good volleyball so that they get better. Playing teams that don’t make us better doesn’t help. Our record will never show what we truly are. People ask me, ‘How have you lost games? You look so good.’ But we play good teams and we have been losing by like two points. We are literally right there with them.
“But our approach is we’re not going to make state if we don’t play good teams. We know we will play tough teams to make it state, so we might as well figure out what we need to look like and how to get better.”
