DIGGING DEEP
Skyview's Bower back to carrying on traditions after potential career-ending injury
Eden Bower hits a shot across the net during the 2018 5A State Volleyball Tournament at Ridgevue High School. Photo credit: Rick Chandler
Eden Bower asked Kevin Murphy last season if she should be in the team photo.
The Skyview High School volleyball coach chuckled before realizing she was serious. A career-threatening leg injury had changed her perception on things.
But a year later, the 6-foot-3 junior outside hitter is back. So the 54th-ranked junior recruit in the country, according to PrepVolleyball.com, will now look to get back to carrying on both the proud traditions of the program and her family.
“It wasn’t just to come back. It was to come back better,” Murphy said. “And there’s no question. Undoubtedly, she’s better. I would say it’s crazy, but when your last name is Bower, you’re just special.”
Bower had a lot to live up to with that name.
Her grandfather, father and mother were all standout athletes at BYU. And her two older sisters, Morgan and Whitney Bower, set the bar pretty high too.
Morgan was a three-time All-Southern Idaho Conference player and an AVCA All-American for the Hawks. Whitney was also a three-time All-SIC selection, including the Player of the Year in 2018. She was a top-50 junior recruit by PrepVolleyball.com as well.
They helped Skyview win the first two state titles in program history (2016, 17) and are now both playing for BYU, which just made a Final Four appearance two years ago.
But Eden, who started playing at the age of 8 after watching her sisters in countless gyms as a kid, quickly made a name for herself with a Big 10 offer in the eighth grade. She did so by possessing something that even Morgan and Whitney didn’t have — height. Eden was already pushing 6-0 in middle school with all of the talent of her sisters to match.
She earned All-League first-team honors as a freshman — something both Morgan and Whitney never did. Eden also helped Skyview win its eight consecutive District III title and come within two sets of a third straight state championship in a winner-take-all 25-18, 25-23 loss to Madison in the 2018 final.
Eden Bower celebrates with her older sister Whitney Bower after winning the 2018 5A District III Championship at Capital High School. Photo courtesy of Danny Bower
However, something didn’t feel right for Eden following that match. And it wasn’t the missed shot at her own piece of blue hardware.
Eden’s right leg had given her trouble during the season. It had caused her to favor her left side. But she just chalked it up to the wear and tear of a season.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I need to get stronger in this leg,’” Eden said. “But I was just so focused on winning and on the game, that I really wasn’t giving any of it a second thought.”
A completely swollen knee after state began to change her thinking, though. And when it completely locked up on her while stretching a few weeks later, she knew something was wrong.
Eden just wasn’t prepared for the answer.
Osteochondritis dissecans.
The rare disorder, which only affects 15 out of every 100,000 individuals, and according to WebMD, is a “condition in which a piece of bone or cartilage (or both) inside a joint loses blood supply and dies.”
It’s also the same disease that nearly ended Morgan’s career in the eight grade.
The condition caused a circular fracture and a little piece of the top of Eden’s femur to separate.
She had two surgeries.
The first was in December 2018 to remove the broken bone and damaged cartilage. The second one to insert a cadaver graft for the bone came in March.
“It has to be an exact match,” father Danny Bower said. “There’s not a lot of 6-3 girls that fit her bone structure.”
A picture of Morgan Bower’s leg during her surgery. Eden Bower’s leg looked the same way during her first surgery in December 2018. Photo courtesy of Danny Bower.
Eden wasn’t even out of a cast until April and still had months of grueling rebab ahead of her.
So she made the difficult decision to sit out last season.
“She was supposed to come in and take over last season,” Murphy said. “So for her to have that
kind of a setback and not knowing how long it was going to take, was really crushing.”
So crushing that Eden questioned her place on the team, including whether anyone wanted her in the team photo.
“It was like, ‘If I’m not playing, where do I stand?,’” Eden said.
The answer was in the back row because she was the tallest. And on the sideline with the rest of her teammates.
Eden cheered on as Skyview still won its ninth district title in a row and made a fifth straight appearance in the state title game.
“She had to learn to be an ultimate teammate,” mother and Idaho Crush coach Caroline Bower said. “Eden didn’t want to make it about her. She wanted it to be about those kids on the court. If she couldn’t really contribute, she didn’t want to take any credit or attention away from anyone else. I think that all came from a really good place.”
But Eden was back on the court herself in December 2019 for the Idaho Crush U-17 National Team. Her first match back was at the well-renowned Northern Lights Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“It was crazy just to be able to play again,” Eden said. “It was definitely a moment for me to be able to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can still hang with such amazing players.’”
So much so that colleges like Nebraska, Stanford, Florida, Texas, Minnesota and Utah were all knocking at her door.
“The first day they could line up phone calls, she had like literally 50 requests.” Danny said.
But for Eden, the choice was simple.
She verbally committed to BYU on June 24.
“It was just such an amazing school that I was like, ‘There’s just no way I can pass this up,’” Eden said. “I was able to watch my sisters play, so I knew what their coaching philosophy was and it was something that I loved. I knew the atmosphere and how much support my sisters got. But yes, I really wanted to play with my sisters.”
Eden Bower sports her BYU gear after announcing her decision to commit there on June 24. Photo courtesy of Eden Bower.
Eden is actually playing with another one right now. Her younger sister Alex is a freshman setter. And so far, the two have made for a pretty prolific combo. Eden has already combined for 52 kills in three games for the Hawks (3-0 overall, 2-0 5A SIC) this season.
So there shouldn’t be any question of her inclusion in this year’s team photo right?
“I don’t think I’ll ask to be in this one,” Eden said while laughing. “But I’m never taking any moment for granted. If it’s my last time ever touching a ball, I want to make it my best one yet. If I lose another season, I want to know that I worked my butt off and I had always tried my hardest every single time I was on the court.”