MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Though ending shorter than they would have liked, the Morgantown High volleyball team reached numerous goals in 2019. Namely, making it to the state tournament in head coach Erica Manor’s inaugural year.
After reaching states with her new team, Manor, a former assistant for University and Musselman as well as state Player of the Year with the Applemen and a Division I player at Liberty, has a similar set of goals for Year 2.
“Looking at the big picture, continuing to go to states is a big thing we all strive for,” Manor said. “But I want to focus on mental toughness, the different parts of the game as it develops and continue to build on the skills that [the returners bring].”
Though losing three seniors, returning for Morgantown are big-time hitters Alayna Corwin and Grace Washington as well as libero Asia Halbritter and up-and-coming sophomore setter Paige Brock. Corwin and Washington were key to Morgantown’s offensive success, as Corwin led the team in kills and attacks with 306 and 965, respectively, while Washburn totaled 175 kills on 440 attacks. Further, Corwin logged 63 aces on 367 serves and held an 87.7% serve percentage with only 45 errors, and totaled 249 digs. Halbritter, who will be a junior, was a major piece of the Mohigans’ defense as the starting libero in 2019 and logged 378 digs. She also received 525 serves with only 63 errors.
“It’s great to have those three kids [Corwin, Washington and Halbritter] back,” Manor said. “Alayna brings leadership, she’s our go-to kid on the court offensively and defensively, she’s a big player for us. As we incorporate new people into our program she’ll step into that leadership role and execute things when need be, so we’re very excited for her. Grace had a really successful season last year – she was one of our power middles and our go-to kids. She put the ball where we needed it. I can’t wait to get going.
“Paige Brock, we ended up keeping her on varsity [last year], we’re excited for her as well and to have her experience with setting back as well. There’s a lot of kids coming back and we’re all excited to see the growth they’ve had over the summer with working out and with the skills they’ve gotten through club ball.”
Though COVID-19 kept MHS out of the gym for the first phase of reopening, Manor doesn’t think it will affect her players too much, especially since the three-week practices are so close to the beginning of August tryouts and practices. It also gave the team time to do weight training while focusing on injury prevention and strength.
“The only effect it has had is pushed back our three-week period where we can get to the gym and do hands-on work with the kids. Thankfully, for now, we get to have that and it’s just pushed back to this month. I think it will benefit us as a team and the rest of the state for the sport of volleyball because we get to interact with our kids then come back after a week downtime, and then, boom, it’s Day 1 of tryouts.
Another bright spot for the team is that the pandemic hasn’t stopped the girls from staying in contact with one another, building bonds and melding more before voluntary workouts even started.
“We’ve been having this countdown and it’s kept them motivated,” Manor said. “We’ve been focusing on mental health and how to be mentally strong, and a lot of the kids have sent articles and videos to each other, like how to make smoothies and stay healthy. Everyone’s kind of stepped in and, in different ways, provided guidance. It’s been cool to see since we haven’t been able to interact with them.
Also returning for Morgantown High are assistant coaches Arturo Manantan and Abigail Wolfe. Arturo will be the freshman team coach,
“We’re super, super excited to have such a strong coaching staff across the board for all three teams,” Manor said. “It’s a big step forward for our program to have volleyball-minded, forward-focused [coaches] to get us to our goals.”
