Senior outside hitter Aiden Morgan grew up watching his sister, Taylor, play volleyball at Lockport on her way to a college career at Southern Illinois.
While Aiden also enjoyed playing football and baseball, it was volleyball that called his name, thanks in part to Taylor.
“It all started with my sister, for sure,” he said. “She gave me that light to play. I watched her a lot.
“She played club at Uno, and it’s the same with me. I used to go to every single one of her games, and she lit the spark that made me want to play.”
Morgan has been providing that spark a lot lately for the Porters.
He came up with 12 kills — including six in the third game – to lead Lockport to a 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 SouthWest Suburban Conference victory Thursday night over visiting Lincoln-Way West.
Cornerstone recruit Ryan Beaumont tallied eight kills and five blocks for the Porters (23-8, 4-1), while Edgewood commit Drew Miller added 13 digs and senior setter Antonio Fiordirosa chalked up 17 assists and two kills.
Fiordirosa, also an Edgewood recruit, produced a wild kill in the third game when he was hit in the face on an attack by the Warriors, but the ball went over the net and fell onto the floor.
He needed to tend to a bloody nose after the play but felt it was worth it.
“I usually don’t get too many kills, but when I do, they are purposeful,” he said. “This time, the ball hit me, I blinked and opened up my eyes and saw it go over and I said, ‘That’s fine with me.’’’
Colin Baikie led Lincoln-Way West (17-14, 2-3) with 16 kills and three aces. Mason Thompson chipped in with nine kills.
Morgan, meanwhile, is on a red-hot stretch. The DuPage recruit made the all-tournament team last weekend at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational and then led the Porters with 13 kills in Tuesday’s 30-32, 25-23, 25-16 win over Sandburg.
“He was dealing with a back issue in the middle of the season,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said of Morgan. “It was frustrating for him, but he’s really found his rhythm.
“He’s almost a lock for 10-plus kills every night. He’s definitely one of our go-to hitters where we say, ‘Hey, give him the ball.’ We know we can put our trust in him.”
Fiordirosa trusts him and has no problems giving Morgan the ball.
“He’s definitely one of my bigger pin hitters,” Fiordirosa said of Morgan. “He’s been more consistent toward the end of the season. I don’t know what we would do without him.
“We need someone to step it up when people are down. He does that a lot for our team.”
Lockport entered Thursday’s match in a three-way tie for the conference lead. The Porters have won conference titles just twice in program history — 2021 and 2024 — and are looking for a third.
After last season’s 15-20 record, this spring has been sweet for Morgan and Co.
“All the seniors decided we had to pick things up,” Morgan said. “We have all the pieces to be a team that can made it pretty far in the postseason.”
As for his future school, men’s volleyball was sanctioned by the National Junior College Athletic Association in 2026 and DuPage hosted the national championship match.
The Chaparrals were national champions in 2025 before the sport was sanctioned by the NJCAA.
“They have some really good coaches,” Morgan said. “I’m excited to get in the gym with the guys and have a good year. They took third this year and I would like to help them win a championship like they did last year.
“I want to bring back a championship for them.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
