Lady Broncos close out best performance in six seasons, finish third in 2A Utah State Tourney

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School volleyball team had one of the best records in the state after they closed out their regular season with a couple games against larger schools, a win over 6A Riverton and a four-set loss to 4A #6 Provo.
The Lady Broncos entered the 2A Utah State Volleyball Tournament with 24 wins and just three losses on the season. They were the dominant Region 18 Champions and were poised for a deep run in the tourney, looking for their 12th state championship in school history.
Early in the week though, several San Juan players came down with an illness that threatened to derail their excellent season. But the Lady Broncos drove through the adversity to indeed make a deep run in the tournament.
Though they did not win the state title as they hoped, they won eight of the 11 sets they played, earning a third-place finish with a sweep of Draper APA in their final game of the season this past Saturday, October 25.
The #2-ranked Lady Broncos traveled to Orem on Friday, October 24 to begin their postseason at Utah Valley University where four games would be crammed into two days.
They had earned a bye in the first round and faced Intermountain Christian in their second round game, promptly sweeping the Lady Lions to start the weekend 25-12, 25-14, and 25-11.
Morgann McPherson led the offense with 17 kills and Faith Flannery contributed 11. Keezie Flannery assisted on 32 San Juan points in the match and served up three aces.
McPherson also dug nine ICS hits with Averie Gilson and Keezie Flannery tallying six digs apiece. Havoc Laws and Madi Adams got two blocks each in the win.
The Lady Broncos continued to cruise with another sweep in the quarterfinal round late Friday night against South Sevier 25-19, 25-23, and 25-16.
The stat line was very similar to game one with McPherson and Faith Flannery getting 19 and 11 kills respectively; Keezie Flannery collecting 36 assists, ten digs, two blocks, and two service aces; and Gilson and McPherson getting 14 and 11 digs respectively.
To start day two of the tournament on Saturday, October 25 San Juan would face the team they had the most dramatic season series with in 2025 – the #3 Enterprise Lady Wolves.
Enterprise won the teams’ first matchup of the season on September 4 in Blanding, but the Lady Broncos turned the tables and beat then-#1-ranked Enterprise on September 27 in Enterprise.
That win temporarily secured the number-one spot for San Juan, and it was almost inevitable that the teams would meet each other one final time at the close of the season.
Just like their previous two contests, this one was a knock-down-drag-out battle, and although it looks like a blowout on paper, it truly wasn’t.
San Juan was outscored by just ten total points and they were right in the hunt in every set. Enterprise just had the higher score in a tight finish each time. The Lady Wolves won set one 25-21, set two 25-22, and set three 25-22.
The Lady Broncos played their hearts out and the loss was devastating. But there were amazing performances despite the defeat. The team dug an astounding 69 Enterprise hits: Gilson had 22, McPherson and Keegan Palmer 13 apiece, Keezie Flannery 11, and Adi Ivins seven.
McPherson had 15 kills, Faith Flannery had seven, and Keezie Flannery four. Adi Ivins served up two aces while Sadie Palmer and Keezie Flannery had one apiece.
Keezie Flannery had 21 assists in the loss. Madi Adams and Adi Ivins blocked three Enterprise shots each. Havoc Laws had two blocks and Faith Flannery got one.
It’s very challenging to bounce back in consolation play once you’ve been eliminated from state title contention, but that’s just what San Juan did in their final game of the tournament – the third-place match Saturday afternoon.
They had another tough battle on their hands with #5 Draper APA, but they handled the Lady Eagles in a two-set sweep 25-20 and 25-20.
Again it was Morgann McPherson leading with 11 kills and Faith Flannery right behind with ten. Keezie Flannery assisted on 25 San Juan points in the win.
McPherson served two aces with Averie Gilson and Keezie Flannery serving one apiece. Gilson had nine digs, Keezie Flannery eight, McPherson seven, and Adi Ivins four.
The Lady Broncos’ 27-win, four-loss, third-place finish was the best season for a San Juan volleyball team since 2019 when they went 29-6 and took second in the 3A state tournament.
First-year head coach SkyAnn Palmer talked about her team’s state tournament experience in an email to the San Juan Record. “Mono and strep hit us the week of state and several of the girls had head colds,” she explained.
“Mentally, I think it did take a toll, but the girls were tough. I remember the last time I had strep I was definitely not running and jumping around. It may have affected us, but that’s one of those things that’s hard to pinpoint.
“We split games with Enterprise in the season. We knew it would be a tough semifinal game and that it would be very back and forth. I always told my kids to get comfortable with the errors and the ups and downs.
“As fans, that’s hard to watch, but that’s just volleyball. It’s a game of errors. There are a few things in that game as a coach I should have done better, but Enterprise pulled through at the end of each of those games.
“If you look at the scores, there wasn’t much more than a two-point lead for either team until the end. That’s hard to swallow. But it is what it is.
“After that loss the girls were really mad and obviously devastated. Something that they had been working hard for had just been lost. I think we are all still in shock. Enterprise played the game of their lives.
“But I told the girls that, historically, playing for third or fifth is the hardest game of the tournament to play. That means you lost. That means unfortunately you don’t get to play in the state championship. But you still have to play a game.
“I have seen some of the best teams fall apart in that situation. I told them I would give them a few minutes to feel their feelings and that’s okay. I asked them to stay underneath the stadium and keep their phones in their bags.
“That next game was played very quickly after our semifinal game. They went out there and played with pride and grace. None of us wanted to be there, but they pulled through and finished. I’m so extremely proud of them for that.”
Coach Palmer says she believes the strong performance all season long and at the state tournament is just a preview for the things to come for San Juan Volleyball. “This is just a kickoff to another San Juan dynasty,” she stated.
“We expect to compete year in and year out. I think this season gave the younger girls some self confidence that this is just what we do. As far as school and community, no one has a fan base like San Juan.
“We probably had more fans at state than the other three teams in the final four combined. That meant so much to our girls.
“I think that’s something Blanding does right; we make a big deal about our kids. It gives them the confidence to go out into the world to do good things. Then we come back to Blanding to make this town better.”
All of the San Juan players did indeed do good things this year. Senior Morgann McPherson ends the year with a very impressive 474 kills, which currently ranks fourth in the state.
She also was the Lady Broncos’ leading serve receiver with 536 receptions and only three errors all year. She had 338 digs, a .254 hitting percentage, 42 service aces, and 13 blocks as well.
Freshman Faith Flannery stormed onto the scene to knock down 277 kills on the season with a .223 hitting percentage. She also had 34 digs, 24 blocks, eight assists, and eight serve receptions.
Junior Havoc Laws had 103 kills this season with a .217 hitting percentage. She led the team with 50 blocks and added 32 digs, seven serve receptions, three assists, and two service aces.
Senior Keezie Flannery also tallied 103 kills this season and led the team with a .287 hitting percentage, but she obviously did most of her damage to opponents assisting her teammates in scoring.
She finishes the season with an amazing 902 assists which ranks second in the state, and she also led the team with 90 service aces.
In addition to leading the team in those three categories, she was third in digs with 204, third in blocks with 25, and added ten serve receptions with no errors.
Senior Averie Gilson was a big team contributor all year as well, with a team runner-up 79 service aces, a team-leading 380 digs, a team runner-up 88 assists, and a team runner-up 430 serve receptions with only three errors.
Senior Madi Adams had 86 kills this season for the Lady Broncos, 62 digs, 37 blocks, 12 assists, 11 serve receptions, and nine assists.
Senior Keegan Palmer served up a very impressive 56 aces this year, third-most on the team. She also collected 204 digs, 248 serve receptions, ten assists, and five kills.
Junior Adi Ivins contributed 83 kills, 34 service aces, 171 digs, 24 assists, 19 blocks, and 203 serve receptions with no errors.
Averie Gilson finishes her San Juan High School volleyball career with 1,298 digs which puts her in elite company. That ranks tenth in career digs in Utah high school volleyball history.
Others finish their Lady Bronco careers very close. Morgann McPherson’s 1,137 career kills and 1,056 digs are just outside the top ten, as are Keezie Flannery’s 227 aces and 2,173 assists.
Coach Palmer obviously has a lot to be proud of after her first season and said she feels odd now that it’s over. “This wasn’t my first time coaching high school volleyball, but it was my first time as head coach.
“These girls have been in the gym with me for at least four days a week since April. So to not be there this week – my only word for it is odd.
“These girls were so extremely successful this year. Every single one of them hit the ground running and made so much progress with their skills. It’s insane.
“We spent a lot of time on our mental game this year too. I love that the last few years there’s been a huge emphasis on mentality with youth sports.
“Shane Blackett from WaspFit in Nephi mentored our girls all season, and it was such a game-changer. Honestly, I think it has changed all of our lives for the better.
“A lot of these girls compete in other sports and they are only going to get better and more comfortable with themselves each year.
“But more importantly, as they grow up and graduate I hope they take the things that they learned this year and run with them. Every single one of these kids are going to be fantastic adults.”
When asked about the future of San Juan Volleyball Palmer said, “In my opinion our bench is pretty deep. We had some juniors out with serious injuries or they would have played this year.
“It will be fun to see where everyone ends up next year. So much can happen in a year. If these girls work hard in the offseason I’m expecting to have several great volleyball seasons for the next few years.”