The Williamsport Wildcats Girls Volleyball team, 2024 State Champions and Small School Champions, are looking towards a repeat in claiming the Class 2A State Title once again this year in the Fall 2025 season. In an interview with the upcoming seniors at Williamsport, not only are they envisioning winning, but they are balancing the duties that accompany the sport, as well as their future as students after graduation. 

 

All 6 of the rising seniors will be attending either 2-year or 4-year institutions after their graduation this upcoming spring. Though early, some of the players have declared a potential major or activity as they continue their educational career! Abigail Paulson will study Dental Hygiene at Hagerstown Community College; McKenna Murphy will study at a 4-year institution playing either basketball or volleyball as an extracurricular; Skylar Norris will study cardiac sonography at a 4-year institution; and Callie McClung, Hannah Small, and Joanna Bowman are all attending 4-year institutions. To commemorate their closing time together, the foremost thought on their mind is spending time with their fellow teammates in the sport they love. 

 

In the Fall 2024 season, the Wildcats Varsity Girls Volleyball team successfully won 10 out of 11 of their final matches which included both the Central Maryland Conference (CMC) Small School title at Williamsport High School and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) State Championship Title at Hartford Community College. Surprisingly, their only lost game in this long stretch of victories was right before their claiming of the CMC Small School title in a 0-3 game against James Wood High School. This impressive run from their match against Governor Thomas Johnson High School to claiming the MPSSAA Class 2A State Championship Title demonstrated not only the team’s physical skill in the sport, but their mental awareness and strength to continue when faced with defeat.

 

In addition to this monumental run, the MPSSAA State Championship games proved the team’s dedication to practice and teamwork, as they surpassed the first game of the Championship with a bye (automatically advancing to the next bracket without playing a game due to previously shown skill/talent) and ended their second and third games with an outstanding 3-0 against Walkersville and Middletown. Their dominating streak did not end there; the Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals, and Championship games against Kent Island, Calvert, and Centennial High Schools, respectively, all concluded with 3-1 scores. 

 

Though strong, their momentum came to an end in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 4A bracket. Their first match in the playoffs against Parkland High School in their very own court ended in a 0-3 sweep that meant the end of the season for the Williamsport Wildcats. Despite this seemingly abrupt end to the season, the girls’ volleyball team is prepared to overcome the loss and demonstrate their physical and mental strength this season.

 

Even though the seniors compose roughly half of the team, most of their positions effectively dominate the court in both offense and defense. Their positions are as follows: Callie McClung, a right-side hitter and setter; Abigail Paulson, a middle hitter; McKenna Murphy, a setter and right-side hitter; Skylar Norris, an outside hitter and defense specialist (DS); Hannah Small, a middle hitter and right-side hitter; Joanna Bowman, a right-side hitter. For those, perhaps, unknowing of the different positions on the court in volleyball, typically there are 6 basic positions: Outside Hitter (Front), Middle Blocker, Right-Side Hitter, Outside Hitter (Back), Libero, and Setter. 

 

One unique perspective of knowledge that the team has is Skylar Norris’ prowess in her DS position. This position, unlike a typical Libero, cannot quite swap players from on and off the court a great deal, rather the position serves as added reinforcements for “hitters in the back row who don’t pass as well,” as Norris states. With this vast knowledge of not only competing against a variety of schools and playing styles from previous seasons, but their own expertise in different positions on the court, the Williamsport Wildcats Girls Volleyball team is prepared to declare the Class 2A MPSSAA State Champions Title once again this Fall. 

 

In addition to winning the MPSSAA State Championship Title, the girls’ volleyball team has more than a few goals for the new season. Karen Moyer Hampton, head coach of the Girls Varsity Volleyball team displays hope for the upcoming juniors to join them in their season in the state championship, once again. She is optimistic that the experience the nine returning players will bring to the court will serve as valuable offensive and defensive knowledge for the new players joining the team. Coach Hampton believes this is what will set them apart from other teams in the area and give the Williamsport Wildcats a “head start…so that we [Varsity Volleyball Team] can have a better record in the county this year.” Williamsport currently has 17 state titles in volleyball. The team is hopeful that the momentum from the previous season will carry over and propel them into state finals once more. 

 

Be sure to attend and support the Williamsport Wildcats Girls Varsity Team this upcoming Fall 2025 season. The season is set to officially begin in the second week in September. Their first match is a home game on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, against Saint James High School at 7:00 PM according to the Williamsport High School (WHS) sports schedule. If the first match does not happen to fit your schedule, their second game of the season is on Thursday, September 11, 2025, against Oakdale High School at 7:00 PM in the Oakdale Gymnasium. Ticket sales are available through the Hometown Ticket App, or through the Millionaire Athletics Williamsport Area High School website. Admission per game is $6 per adult and $2 for students. However, as of 2023, the Williamsport Area School District Athletic Department had offered season passes for both families and single persons attending regular home games and events. The Fall sports season passes for volleyball are $50 per adult, $100 for a family of 2 adults and 4 students, and/or $25 for students in grades 9 through 12.