BYU volleyball offer too good to pass up for Skyview High’s Bower sisters

Morgan Bower was the first of her seven sisters to receive a full-ride offer to play volleyball for BYU, but she wasn’t the first to accept.

While soon-to-be-sophomore setter Whitney Bower committed to the Cougars on the spot, the eldest Bower felt she needed a little more time.

On Wednesday night, Morgan, a junior libero at Skyview High in Nampa, decided she couldn’t pass up the family tradition.

“I am really, really excited to keep the sister thing going at BYU and just being able to play with my best friend,” Morgan said.

BYU currently has twins Lacy and Lyndie Haddock on its roster, and Morgan and Whitney will be the third generation of Bowers to play a sport for the Cougars.

Parents Danny and Caroline Bower are both BYU alums. Danny, a 1993 Caldwell High graduate, played men’s basketball at BYU (97-99), while Caroline (Steuer) was an outside hitter for the Cougars (1995-2000), making four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wayne Bower, their grandfather, was a standout football and track athlete at BYU in the 1970s.

Both girls say they chose BYU because they love playing together and want to win a national title.

“What drew me to (BYU) was that (Whitney’s) going to be there, and also I want to win a national championship,” Morgan said.

In each of the past five seasons, the Cougars have finished the season ranked no lower than 13th. BYU concluded the 2016 season ranked No. 8 with a 29-4 record, a third straight West Coast Conference title and a fifth consecutive trip to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

BYU has never won a national title in women’s volleyball, but the two oldest Bower sisters are comfortable beating the odds.

Last fall they led Skyview to its first state volleyball title, and this summer they’re breaking new ground on the club circuit.

Morgan and Whitney helped Idaho Crush’s U-17 national team become the first Idaho squad to qualify for the open division at USA Volleyball’s Girls’ Junior National Championships, June 30-July 3, in Minneapolis, Minn.

With Morgan’s commitment this week, Crush now has eight Division I commits on its roster.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "BYU volleyball offer too good to pass up for Skyview High’s Bower sisters."