CHARLESTON – The Morgantown High volleyball team fell in five sets to top-seeded Hedgesville in the Class AAAA state championship on Thursday in Charleston; 20-25, 25-20, 17-25, 27-25, and 15-12.
Hedgesville captures its first state championship since 2002.
Morgantown finishes the season 39-11.
“I’m really proud of our performance despite the result,” MHS head coach Abigail Wolfe said. “Fighting back the way we did in the second set and showing the resiliency we did is what these girls did all season and I’m so happy with the way they fought. We battled through a lot of adversity this season with injuries and such, and I’m proud that we made it this far.”
MHS held a slight lead 7-6 to begin the match as points were traded. Both teams showed some early nerves but the Mohigans were the ones to settle them and used a 4-0 run to pull ahead 11-6.
But the Eagles found their rhythm eventually, cutting the deficit to just one point in the latter stages of the first set. MHS called a quick timeout leading 20-19 and earned five of the next six points to close out the opening set 25-20.
Hedgesville opened the second set with momentum and a 6-3 lead but the Mohigans responded well and cut into the deficit, eventually taking the advantage 12-11.
But the Eagles fired off a 7-2 scoring run that swelled the lead to seven, pulling them ahead at a crucial time in the second set. MHS showed fight as they chipped away at the deficit but couldn’t make up the ground in time to complete the comeback and Hedgesville took set two 25-20, evening the match at one set each.
“I just told them to take it one point at a time,” Wolfe said of her message after dropping the second set. “They needed to realize this was just another game and it was time to do the things they had done all season. Every set is a new set, every point is a new point.”
The message resonated with her squad, as Morgantown opened the third set in control and didn’t let go of it throughout.
A Paige Brink kill gave MHS an 8-5 advantage and Leah Greeny followed with a flurry of aces on the serving line to swell the lead to 13-5.
The Eagles called timeout to regroup but the Mohigans shut down any chance of a comeback, growing the lead to nine points and eventually earning a crucial set-three victory 25-17 to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.
With its back against the wall, Hedgesville got off to an ideal start in the fourth set, leading 8-3 early on.
That lead grew to 14-7, and eventually 18-12 before the Mohigans began to chip away. MHS fired off six straight points to tie the set and snatch momentum from the Eagles.
Hedgesville used a run of its own to pull ahead 24-20, but MHS fought back to even the score once again at 24. The comeback bid came up just short however, and Hedgesville forced a fifth and final set, winning set four 27-25.
The Eagles carried the momentum of their victory in the fourth set and jumped out to an 8-4 advantage in the fifth.
MHS battled back as it did all evening, but came up short 15-12 in the final moments.
“We knew how tough of a matchup this would be coming in, and it proved to be that way,” Hedgesville head coach Allison Whitford said. “We have been used to controlling games most of the season coming into tonight, and Morgantown caught us a little off guard. At the end of the third set, everyone looked each other in the eyes and we knew it was time to get something done. I’m so proud of these girls and their fight all season and in a very tough field at the state tournament.”
