“I think we started out with a slow moment, and it’s about building momentum,” coach Erica Manor said. “They got excited, so they had to slow their minds and focus on one point at a time, believe in yourself and have confidence in each other. That’s what I preached to them in the timeout, so I think that (that) was the biggest deal breaker in finding the ground on the other side of the net.” The second set played out much like the first, with Parkersburg South taking an early lead on Mohigan mistakes. After slowing down play, a monster block by Grace Washburn and Lyons put the momentum in Morgantown’s court to fight within a few points. Catreena Shears refused to give into the upped pressure, getting a line of kills on the far side of the court for a 4-0 run. Down 20-16, Morgantown fought back to cut the deficit to 21-20. Moser picked up three straight aces, Corwin pounded a kill and another Patriot attacking error on game-point gave MHS the set at 25-21 and the match lead. “We just slowed down the play,” Corwin said of the back-to-back comebacks. “We needed to get air under the ball to give us time and that’s key in tight sets. 25-25 (in set 1), that’s tight, so it was super important to slow down the ball and better our play so we can rip away.” “It was about managing South’s big hitters (tonight),” Manor said. “They were taking it to Brooke in the back (in the second set), so it really challenged our block and tracking. I think our girls opened up their vision of contact and did a better job of closing the block and allowing Brooke to be in a better position. Collectively, we became more scrappy in those moments and that’s why we were more successful.” Finally, in the third set, Morgantown began clicking across the board to lead South throughout the first half. Down but not out, South began chipping away at the Mohigans’ 8-point lead point by point, however a tough net game by Sage Halbritter and Lyons delivered the final dagger to the Patriots in the form of a 10-point lead. Cornered, South exhausted its final tank of energy on scrappy digs, but just like the first two sets an attacking error gave MHS the set 25-19, sealing the match in three. “I think everything was clicking and the momentum was definitely on our side,” Manor said of the final set. “In the timeout I was like, ‘Hey, let’s come out here and make a statement against this very good Parkersburg South team.’