MORGANTOWN – The Morgantown and University High School volleyball teams met on Tuesday night for the first time in 2025, and the first time since their five-set epic in the 2024 state tournament last season, which MHS won 3-2.
While the victors didn’t change on Tuesday night as MHS swept the Hawks 3-0, the way they achieved their triumph did, as the Mohigans controlled the match throughout the three sets (25-7, 25-14, 25-19).
“We had an early injury that changed our rotations a bit and changed our game plan,” MHS head coach Abigail Wolfe said. “But it was nice to see the girls fight through that, and we wanted to give more people some opportunities. We’ve really focused on being adaptable this year and moving in and out of different rotations. We knew UHS would come out and fight, and we responded well.”
MHS outside hitter Kelly Ryan tweaked her ankle early in the match. It ended up being nothing serious, but the lead that had been built allowed Wolfe to rotate players from her bench on Tuesday.
Morgantown (12-2) jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the opening set with a mix of a potent offensive attack and solid defensive play. UHS didn’t have the firepower to match that of Leah Greeny, Paige Brink, and Abby Paulsen in the first set as MHS secured the first 25-7.
The second set saw the Hawks jump out to their first lead, 3-2, but it didn’t take long for MHS to seize control again with an 11 to 3 scoring run that gave it a nine-point lead midway through.
“We learned a lot tonight, that’s for sure,” UHS head coach Nick Lusk said. “When you come out flat, you’ll struggle against anybody, especially Morgantown. When we lock in and play the way we know we can, I think we can beat anyone. We’ve shown that with a couple of the teams we’ve lost to already.”
MHS secured the second set 25-14 with a massive kill by Greeny, who celebrated with a fist pump before being surrounded by her teammates.
The third set began with the Mohigans riding the wave of momentum built from the end of the second and growing a lead of 5-1. That lead grew to 11-5 before the Hawks found their rhythm and began to make a push, eventually shrinking the lead to two points, 17-15.
MHS called a timeout after the Hawks cut the lead to one point, 18-17, and exited the other side of the huddle to try to close the match.
The Mohigans did just that, taking seven of the final nine points in the third set to win 25-19 and sweep the match 3-0.
MHS will return home on Thursday to host Wheeling Park, while the Hawks will travel to Preston for a quad-match with Lewis County, Jefferson, and the Knights.
