MORGANTOWN – Knowing your strengths and playing to them is a formula for success in sports that has worked for years. That’s exactly what the MHS volleyball team did on Wednesday night in the OVAC conference tournament semifinal against John Marshall. The Mohigans won the match in a sweep of the Monarchs, 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-13) and will advance to pay Marietta High School (Ohio) on Saturday in the championship.
The Monarchs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first set, but the Mohigans rallied for the next nine out of ten points in the set to take control 10-3 and forcing JMHS to call a timeout.
The Monarchs were able to find two points out of the timeout but once again the Mohigans denied their opponents any chance at momentum. Strong hitting on offense, combined with some unforced errors by JMHS allowed the hosts to begin to pull away.
The lead grew to nine at 17-8 and JHMS needed to find a rally immediately or the first set would be out of reach. The Monarchs did just that and took six of the next seven points to cut the lead to four at 18-14 and forcing MHS into a timeout this time.
The Mohigans rallied after the timeout and took three of the next four points, stealing the control right back. JMHS would manage a few more points in the latter part of the set, but it would be MHS who ultimately won the opener 25-18, in what would be the most competitive of the three.
“I thought our athletes did a great job tonight of managing the game,” MHS head coach Erica Manor-Sphar said of her teams victory. “We had aggressive serves and were moving the ball around offensively. This win puts us in the OVAC championship match on Saturday where we will be looking for an OVAC three-peat championship.”
The second set carried over from the first, with MHS continuing to be aggressive on offense and the Monarchs being unable to keep up. Some miscommunication and errors kept JMHS from really capturing the momentum needed to make a comeback in the game, and after dropping the second set 25-12, it seemed to be all but over.
The third set started evenly, however, with the Monarchs finding a rally to take an early lead 8-6. The next serve would sail out of play though, giving MHS a free point, the ball back on-serve, and momentum.
The Mohigans won five straight points, giving them the lead back at 11-8, one they wouldn’t surrender in the third. MHS would take the third and final set by a score of 25-13, sweeping the match 3-0 and advancing the Mohigans to the championship of the OVAC conference. A win on Saturday against Marietta would give MHS its third straight OVAC title.
TWEET – @dompostsports
