#20 Sierra Lanham spikes the ball while #21 Alayna Corwin and #10 Grace Washburn block. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#0 Norah Chase goes for a point while #24 Emily Goldcamp and #10 Grace Washburn block. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#38 Isabel Grushecky goes for a point while #8 Olivia Kaddar and #23 Ashlynn Napier block. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#8 Olivia Kaddar lobs the ball to teammates. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#8 Olivia Kaddar serves the ball. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#8 Olivia Kaddar spikes the ball on #38 Isabel Grushecky. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#25 Asia Halbritter serves the ball. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#11 Rachel Shockley serves the ball. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH 
#5 Brooke Lyons lobs the ball to teammates. MHS VS UHS 10-8-20 GH
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s no secret the University High volleyball team got the best of crosstown rival Morgantown in every match up last season, and the Hawks used that to springboard themselves into the state tournament.
The 2020 edition of the series began last Saturday in a quickly scheduled match as both schools were trying to make up for time lost when Monongalia County was forced to shut down for three weeks due to COVID-19 and the West Virginia color map.
The Mohigans, specifically second-year coach Erica Manor, finally broke through with their first win against UHS, 2-0. Manor was an assistant for the Hawks before getting the head gig at MHS.
In the first regularly scheduled match Thursday night at MHS, the Mohigans got the upper hand again in a back-and-forth and exciting 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-10, 24-26, 15-10) win.
“We have a team now that has more of a growing mindset,” Manor said. “In practice, we’ve had a training mindset, but in the game, we’ve really gotten into a growing and trusting way of thinking. As the year has gone on, we’ve gotten better offensively and defensively. The kids have stepped up in big moments to execute plays, and tonight, it was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster on both sides.
“I think we ended up with the victory because of how we’ve been able to be mentally tough in certain moments.”
In every set, MHS (6-2) jumped out to a lead, and in the first and third, were able to run away with it. The Hawks (6-4), though responded in the second and fourth to eventually take the lead, and coach Don Godfrey was thrilled with the resilience his team showed, especially after getting blown out in the third set.
“After they blew out us in that third set, we could have just laid down and quit right there,” he said. “We battled back and fought hard. It was a good match, we had our chances but had little mistakes here and there. It could have gone either way.”
For the Mohigans, Alayna Corwin had seven kills and 20 digs; Issy Grushecky had seven kills and six blocks; Brooke Lyons had 13 assists; and Grace Washburn had five kills, five aces and three blocks. MHS will host a tri against Woodrow Wilson and Huntington on Saturday.
For the Hawks, Olivia Kaddar had 14 digs, five aces and 16 kills; Peyton Foulks had nine digs, three aces, five kills and 12 assists; and Norah Chase had 10 digs, three aces and two kills. UHS will play Monday at Hampshire.
