Lincoln volleyball star Colyer to play for Oregon University

Lincoln High School senior Morgan Colyer, 17, is in her final season with the Zebras and is committed to play for Oregon University, a Top 15 National Collegiate Athletic Association-ranked volleyball school in the country. Colyer went to its camp in summer 2019 before beginning her Lincoln High sophomore year. "I chose Oregon because everything about it is incredible from the coaches, players, program, academics, location and everything in between is all I wanted and more when looking at schools," Colyer said. She began playing volleyball in sixth-grade and got into the sport because her mother, Nicole Colyer, played volleyball at Long Beach State from 1994 to 1997. Before volleyball, Morgan Colyer played club soccer with Placer United for six years, starting at six years old. "I didn't want to pressure her to play volleyball just because I did, but after watching her progress so quickly, it was obvious that she needed better coaching than I could give her," Nicole Colyer said. The mother played with multiple Olympians at Long Beach State. Nicole Colyer played with Tayyiba Haneef-Park, who competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London, and with Misty May-Treanor, who won gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Beijing and London. Nicole Colyer was third in the nation for hitting percentage her junior year and first for her senior year in 1997. Morgan Colyer helped lead Lincoln High School to its first league title in 44 years in 2019. She had 479 kills and finished third in California for kills per set. "I've coached some of the best players out of the Sacramento area and as a sophomore, I've never seen anyone that was as good at taking information and putting it into action," Lincoln coach Jeff Deter said. "Her ability to apply what was taught was amazing and her length and height, along with the ability to control the ball, is exceptional." So far in 2021, Colyer has 271 kills in 35 sets played and a 57-percent hitting percentage. Colyer is currently second in total kills and hitting percentage in California while having the most kills per set. She is not currently listed on the Maxpreps stat leaders for the nation as to be ranked because leaders need to have played at least 15 matches. However, to put these numbers into perspective, the girl currently with the most kills per set in the nation is Brooklyn Jaeger from Texas with 7.5 per set. Colyer has 7.7 per set in her first 13 matches alone. "I really want to get the most out of my senior season at LHS and we want to win the league title again and hopefully state," Colyer said. "Long term, I want to make an impact on the sport and I want to win a national championship." Colyer said that Kathryn Plummer, who graduated from Stanford University in 2020, is her favorite player of all time. "I'm so obsessed with her, the way she plays, her leadership skills and the way she holds herself on the court," Colyer said. "Some of the biggest compliments I've received are ones when people said I reminded them of her while I played." While dominating on the court at Lincoln High School, Colyer has also played for SynergyForce Volleyball Club out of Roseville for the past seven seasons. Last year, her team was 45 to 20 and finished in second-place at the Triple Crown West Coast Invitational. "She played a huge role on the team and was our go-to hitter when we were in a bind," SynergyForce Volleyball Club coach Rheann Fall said. "She communicates so well with others and can grab everyone's attention quickly to be able to calm the team down and refocus." The main struggle Colyer has outside of volleyball is time management as she takes multiple AP courses and tries to find time to hang out with friends and family. She also likes to watch TV shows, have family movie nights and go to country concerts in her free time. "She's the most disciplined person that I know and it's such a joy having her as a daughter," Nicole Colyer said.