Brighton handles Morgan

On the first day volleyball teams were allowed to play matches, the Brighton Bengals showed why they're already being called the team to beat.

Last year's third-place 5A team handled the 3A champion, Morgan, in three straight games, just as they did the other two teams they faced earlier Thursday in the Tournament of Champions at Skyline High School. The Trojans, who were without three starters, stayed close the first two games, but the Bengals dominated the third game as they advance to the top pool 25-20, 25-20, 25-12.

"We're making some nice strides forward," said Bengal head coach Jeremiah Larsen.

One area the team hopes to improve the most is its mental game.

"We get flustered every time they make a point," he said. "We have to work on just staying strong . . . The basis of composure is confidence. If they're confident, then they're going to stay composed. Sometimes we're not confident enough."

The Bengals have every reason to be over-confident with one of the state's best hitters, Krista Kelley, who recently committed to the University of Santa Clara. Senior opposite hitter, Cassandra Ricketts, and junior setter Missy White, are just three of the team's tall, powerful front-line.

Kelley finished the match against Morgan with 18 kills, while Ricketts added 12. White finished with 40 assists.

Now that Larsen has been at the helm of the program for three years, he hopes the team will be able to play to their potential until the season's final match.

"It's always a goal of ours to be there," he said. "It helps (that this is the third year for the starters) because we use a different system than they were used to."

The Bengals are hungry for the championship, which has been within reach the last two years as they finished second in 2004 and third in 2005.

Brighton moves on to play in one of two top pools Friday, where it will face American Fork, Box Elder and Cottonwood. Morgan finished second in pool play Thursday and the Trojans face Skyline Friday morning. A loss to Brighton may not have been the ideal finish for a day of volleyball for the Trojans, but head coach Liz Wiscombe is happy with how the team is playing this early in the season.

"This is a great experience for them," she said. "We like playing the top teams; it makes us better."

There were a few surprises in the tournament, with American Fork entering the tournament as a fourth seed and finishing second in pool play. Box Elder did the same in its pool, while three of the top seeds, Lone Peak, Brighton, and Skyline cruised through the first day of play, 5A defending champion Pleasant Grove finished second after losing to 4A's Cottonwood, a No. 2 seed.

The championship matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

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E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com