CHARLESTON – The MHS volleyball team finished second in the state of West Virginia in the WVSSAC Class AAA state tournament at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Thursday morning.
The Mohigans dropped a hard-fought battle in straight sets to the Musselman Applemen (25-23, 25-14, 25-14).
Despite the loss, MHS reached the state title, something not done in the four years under head coach Erica Manor-Sphar.
“We are so proud of our kids for making the state championship this year through a lot of adversity,” she said after the championship match on Thursday. “We’ve had players called upon from different levels of the program from JV to even freshman so to have everyone be able to fill in spots like that speaks to the depth of our program and makes us excited to hopefully have another opportunity at the state title. Today, it didn’t go our way and that’s quite alright.”
To open the match, the Mohigans were the team to take advantage early, jumping out to a lead at 7-3.
That lead grew to five at 11-6, but the Applemen found some points behind a rally of great serving and cut the deficit to three at 15-12. Eventually, MuHS was rewarded for its patience and tied the opening set at 20, riding a wave of momentum that carried throughout the rest of the match.
The lead would be surrendered by the Mohigans on the next point, and so to the set as they wouldn’t retake it.
The Applemen controlled the next two sets with impressive passing play and precise defense. A few Mohigan-errors also helped with some free points.
It is the third straight state title for head coach Shawn Martz and his program.
Coach Manor, a former player at Musselman under Martz, is building a strong program for MHS volleyball and credits that to the kids who continue to show up everyday.
“It’s taken us four years to get here and it’s all due to the athletes that continue to show up every single day,” said the four-year head coach. “They work hard and don’t get complacent with where they are in the game of volleyball and their skill. They come out to practice and get better each day. I think that has helped get us to this point.”
The Mohigans will say farewell to four seniors, including Division 1, Murray State commit Paige Brock, who was a freshman when Manor took the head coaching position.
“It’s very special for me,” Manor said, thinking of Brock playing her last game for MHS. “Paige is a very big impact player for us and I’ve been with her for all four years but now she’s going to go and continue on in division 1 which is amazing. It’s sad to see her go but I’m so glad to be able to watch her keep playing at the next level.”
Despite losing the seniors, much of the lineup for the Mohigans that made a big impact will be returning.
“We are already excited (for next year),” Manor said. “We are losing the four seniors but we have plenty of veteran players returning and everyone is prepared to get better in the offseason through practice and the club environment. Hopefully we can bring ourselves to this situation again and turn it in our favor.”
Morgantown finish the season with an overall record of 29-11-1.
TWEET – @dompostsports @ahhh_griff
