By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There’s a wide variety of Christmas shows on television Saturday night, but Northern Kentucky volleyball fans should be watching the NCAA Division I championship match on ESPN2 instead.
Morgan Hentz of Lakeside Park is a defensive standout on the Stanford University volleyball team that will be playing the University of Texas in the national final at 9 p.m. Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Hentz, a 2016 Notre Dame Academy graduate, is one of seven freshmen on the Stanford roster. In her team’s semifinal victory over Minnesota on Thursday, she tied a career-high with 27 defensive digs playing libero on the defensive back row.
Stanford (26-7) will be going for its first national title since 2004 and its seventh overall in Saturday’s championship match. If the Cardinal team wins, Hentz will become the first Northern Kentucky high school player and the first Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC) member to play on an NCAA championship team.
Mike Hentz, the player’s father, said he didn’t expect Stanford’s young team to make it to the national final so soon, even though the California university’s incoming freshmen were considered the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.
“They’re actually the youngest team in NCAA history to go this far,” Mike Hentz said. “We’re pretty excited about that. The future looks pretty bright. But I constantly remind her, ‘Don’t think you’re going to get a chance to get back here again so strike now while you can.’”
The father said a “huge crowd” that included Morgan’s former teammates and coaches from high school and club volleyball made the drive to Columbus to watch her play in the semifinal match against Minnesota on Thursday. There’s a good chance they’ll make the trip once again on Saturday to watch the nationally televised championship final.
“My phone has been buzzing all day to find out if there’s any (tickets) available in our section (of the arena),” Mike Hentz said.
Katie Wesseling, director and co-founder of the NKYVC, was among the local group that watched Morgan from the stands at Thursday’s semifinal match in Columbus.
“They had an autograph session afterwards,” Wesseling said “and I think all the other players were feeling a little slighted because everybody with us was going, ‘Morgan, Morgan.’ I’m sure it was fun for her, being away from home for that long and then seeing everybody there. It was great watching her again.”
Morgan played libero and outside hitter for NKYVC teams in different age groups. She also played both of those positions on her Notre Dame Academy high school teams and was named Miss Kentucky Volleyball after her senior season.
Last summer, Morgan played libero on a U.S. national team that competed in the Girls’ Youth World Championships in Peru before joining the Stanford team. In her first season there, she has made a team-high 603 defensive digs in 125 matches for a 4.82 average. That’s why she was voted to the PAC 12 Conference All-Freshmen Team.
“She’s always been amazing, even when she was little,” Wesseling said. “She was always the first one in the gym (for practice) and just loved every minute of it.”