Ms. Volleyball Bailey Farris showed true grit

One day Bailey Farris was the key player on the state's top-ranked volleyball team.

The next day she was in a hospital bed fighting a bizarre infection that threatened not just her senior season but her life.

"It was terrible for her," said her father, Jann Farris. "I was worried about her recovering, and I didn't think she'd recover in time to help them this season. I could see how weak she was, I could see she was losing weight."

The Morgan senior woke up with a small red spot on her knee and, by the early evening, she couldn't walk on it.

"We went to the hospital and within 15 minutes, I had an IV in and they were taking blood work," said the middle hitter who recovered from the fast-moving infection that put her in the hospital for six days in the middle of the season. "It was really hard, especially being away from volleyball for two weeks. It was hard being a senior because I wanted to be there to help my team."

Adds head coach Liz Wiscombe, "We weren't sure she was even going to come back."

As Bailey agonized over the possibility of not recovering in time to help her team battle for a 3A state title they'd talked about all summer, the community came together on her behalf.

Her teammates decided they were going to fast for her recovery, and when other students heard about it, they joined in until almost the entire school was participating.

"It was amazing," said her father. "There really was an outpouring from the whole town."

And her coach said it wasn't just the city of Morgan.

"The volleyball community is small and it's like a family," said Morgan head coach Liz Wiscombe. "She got emails and cards from all over the state."

Wiscombe said it isn't just that Morgan and the volleyball community are supportive groups, but that a lot of the flowers, balloons, cards and love were offered because of who Bailey Farris is. Her athletic ability, leadership and work ethic earned her a 3A state title and this year's Deseret News Ms. Volleyball Award.

"She's a great player, but they love her as a person," Wiscombe said. "They respect her as a person. It's because of people like Bailey that you stay in coaching."

Farris did recover, and in the two weeks she was gone, her teammates proved they were as committed as she was to earning the school's second straight state title.