MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Don’t think ahead – just get the first kill down, then go from there. That’s how University spiker Ashten Boggs would tell you how the Hawks, down 0-1 in Tuesday’s sectional match against Morgantown, overcame a fast and heavy Mohigan attack to defeat their rival in four sets.
Both University and Morgantown swept the semifinals to claim a spot in the Region I tournament and opened the championship round firing on all cylinders. Battling point-by-point to tie 16-16, Morgantown began to pull away after Grace Washburn picked up the go-ahead kill. After giving up three more points intermittent to their own scoring drives, the Mohigans closed out the first set 25-19 with an exclamation point by senior Sage Halbritter.
But that would be the last true exclamation point for the Mohigans because the Hawks swept through the following three sets to defeat Morgantown and claim the sectional title.
Sets 2 and 3 both started out with the Hawks taking big leads as Boggs and her fellow attackers took advantage of the back- and middle-loaded MHS defense as well as the Mohigans’ outside blocks to force errors. University easily took those sets 25-15 and 25-9, respectively.
Moving into Set 4, however, Morgantown looked as if it would force the tiebreaker once more. UHS had other plans, though, taking a six-point lead at Morgantown’s timeout halfway through the set. From there, UHS never allowed the deficit to drop below that and ultimately winning 25-18.
“We just couldn’t get over that hump, but when we came out in the second set it was lights out,” UHS coach Don Godfrey said. “(After that) it was our match. They played their hearts out and they wanted to win.
“Ashten’s been there all year – she’s the (OVAC) player of the year and proved that tonight.”
Morgantown head coach Erica Manor also agreed that her team couldn’t seem to find the momentum to come back after the second set.
“We just couldn’t seem to get the momentum back on our side (into that second set),” she said, “so we’re going to look ahead and prepare for the future.”
Alayna Corwin ended the night with 11 kills and two aces, while Halbritter had eight kills and two big blocks. Washburn had three kills.
Boggs led the Hawks with 15 kills, while Mallory Napolillo (8), Lindsey Wilburn (7), Anna Voris (6) and Olivia Kaddar (6) accounted for 27.
Regional outlook
University: The Hawks should be facing John Marshall in the Region I semifinals on Saturday. The Hawks defeated the Monarchs 3-0 in the regular season on Sept. 19.
Morgantown: The Mohigans will likely be facing No. 1 seed, Wheeling Park. The Patriots defeated Morgantown twice in the regular season without ever giving up a set. The Patriots are also 2-1 against University in the regular season, only falling to them on Oct. 1 in five sets.
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