Charleston – When No. 1-seed Hedgesville and No. 2-seed Morgantown met Thursday afternoon inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, both teams were going to be part of history, regardless of the outcome.
The Eagles and the Mohigans were meeting in the first-ever Class AAAA title tilt played in the state of West Virginia.
The two teams put on quite a show as well.
Taking the match to five sets, Hedgesville earned the honor of being called the first AAAA champion with a 3-2 triumph over last year’s Class AAA state champion.
The Mohigans controlled the opening set from start to finish, cruising to a 25-20 win. The Eagles pulled within two points at 20-18 before Morgantown scored five straight for the 1-0 lead.
Set two was a complete reversal with Hedgesville controlling the play and Morgantown making the late push in a 25-20 win for the Eagles.
The momentum switched yet again in the crucial third set which was dominated by the Mohigans who built a 20-9 lead and cruised to a 25-17 win for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five match.
Hedgesville evened the match with a wild win in set four. After leading 14-6, the Eagles could not hold off a Morgantown rally which tied the set at 19-19.
The Eagles regrouped to take a 24-20 lead, but Morgantown again rallied to take a 25-24 advantage. Surviving a pair of wild rallies with numerous acrobatic saves and a timely ace, Hedgesville secured three straight points to take a 27-25 win.
Sparked by the wild win in set four, the Eagles took the early three-point advantage and made it stand.
Morgantown moved within one point at 10-9, but Hedgesville answered to build a 13-10 lead. The Mohigans again inched within one point at 13-12 before the Eagles pulled away for a 15-12 win.
Parker Sutherland and Gracie Brown from Hedgesville led the All-Tournament selections along with Abi Paulsen and Paige Brink from Morgantown. The remaining team members were Lilly Atkins and Avery Ellis from Spring Valley, Jillian Yost from Cabell Midland and Zoey Bragg from George Washington.
