CHARLESTON – Morgantown High and University brought their version of the Mohawk Bowl to the capital city on Wednesday afternoon, as the rivals met in the quarterfinals of the state volleyball tournament.
The No. 2 Mohigans bested the No. 7 Hawks in five sets. The scores were 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12, in what was an instant classic inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Morgantown (38-10) earned its spot in the semifinals with the victory as it continues on toward a second straight state title.
University (34-9-1) saw its season come to an end after an impressive 2024 campaign.
“We knew this match would be close coming in regardless of the numbers beside of our names in the bracket,” MHS head coach Abigail Wolfe said. “This was actually our first match all season that has gone to a fifth set but we talked this morning about keeping our heads in the match at all times and I’m proud of our performance down the stretch.”
MHS started with the early momentum, jumping ahead 8-6 in the first set. The Hawks eventually evened the score at 14 but a scoring run put the Mohigans ahead 23-19 and they took the set 25-21.
It seemed that MHS would also take the second set as it carried momentum over from the first and pulled ahead 18-12 in the latter half. But the Hawks fought back fiercely and cut the deficit to 21-19. That rally built the momentum needed for UHS to get over the hump in the second set as they tied the score at 24 before taking the set 26-24 and tying the match at one set each.
“I’m proud of the way our girls fought, like they’ve done all season long,” UHS head coach Nick Lusk said. “They have nothing to hang their heads about. We fought hard but sometimes in volleyball when you give a good team an inch, they take a mile, and we gave MHS too many opportunities.”
The third set opened locked at 10, with the two teams trading points until MHS freshman Leah Greeny hit four straight aces to give her team four-point lead. The Mohigans eventually took the third set 25-19.
The fourth set saw MHS pull ahead 15-13 midway through, and the lead grew to 19-16 soon after. With their backs against the wall, UHS pulled out a 4-0 scoring run and snatched the lead 21-20.
“I just told them to go out and have zero regrets and that they couldn’t leave this floor without leaving everything they had on it,” Lusk said. “I’m proud of the response every single time we got down in the match.”
Morgantown snatched the early momentum in the fifth and final set with a 4-1 lead but UHS fought back once again to tie the set at four.
But the Mohigans responded well and eventually pulled ahead 12-8, giving them just enough cushion to ride the lead out to take the fifth set 15-12.
“I didn’t really say much to them in the huddle before the last set,” Wolfe said. “Our serves were strong to open that fifth set which helped get us through. That’s been a strength all year for us and something that’s an important part of the game in a setting like the state tournament.”
