HAGERSTOWN, Md. — As part of the younger generation, Aleah Merrbaugh may not have any idea who Cyndi Lauper is.
But the North Hagerstown sophomore does identify with the singer’s well-known line.
Girls just want to have fun.
It’s not the motto of the Hubs’ volleyball team, but it could be. At least it looked like it on Tuesday with their “All hands on deck” method of play in a 25-16, 25-17, 25-14 sweep of Oakdale in a Central Maryland Conference match.
“This is so fun … just playing with each other and getting different people playing beside you,” said Merrbaugh, the Hubs’ sophomore defensive whiz. “It’s just having each other out there when we’re down and playing as a team.”
It is a vast change in philosophy for the Hubs.
For a number of years, North has been known for being an experienced team with some big hitters in the lineup. That formula allowed the Hubs to win six state titles in the last 15 years, including three straight before losing in last year’s Class 3A final.
But in 2026, it is a different makeup. This team has just one senior – Lily Hajel – and seven freshmen and sophomores on this 13-player roster.
“We have to get everybody involved,” said coach Lacie Johnson. “We are not able to set that one person every single time. That’s building confidence in those younger players.
“And then, I think that makes us a pretty big threat because you don’t necessarily know where the ball’s going to go all the time.”
At times on Tuesday, the Hubs resembled a football or hockey team. They played a matchup game, substituting multiple players in certain serving, blocking, defensive and hitting situations.
“That’s one of the big things that we knew we had to come in and do this year,” Johnson said. “We really wanted to be able to mix the offense up, be defensively sound and having really good serving because that’s going to be able to allow us to run an offense.”
One of those lynchpins on Tuesday was Merrbaugh. She was a key serving weapon for the Hubs (4-1) but enhanced her presence with an ability to find the right spots on the court where she might be needed to come up with a dig or feed a pass.
“Our communication (is key),” she said. “And when we make a mistake, we come back from it. We are finding our hitters, who are finding the spots on the court. And then our defense is picking up the tips and they were putting down, too.
“It’s really fun when we find each other and play as a team. But, when we play individually, it’s not as fun. When we play as a team, win or lose, I feel like we all have fun.”
Fun came in the form of two main scoring flurries in each of the three games en route to the sweep.
In the first game, Oakdale and North tied three times getting to a 4-4 score. The Hubs took control with a 9-2 run on three service points by Milani Weedon, followed by a run of five from Merrbaugh to get a 13-6 lead. Sophomore Charlotte Booth put down four of those points.
Oakdale got to within 15-11 before North won the serve back, handing it to Margaret Gatchalian for three points to build a 19-11 advantage the Bears couldn’t overcome.
In the second game, the Hubs led 8-6 after regaining the ball after an errant Oakdale serve. Mia Johnson put together a five-point service run to give North a 13-6 lead. Later, Milanya Hawkins put in a couple of points to give North a 21-11 advantage.
Oakdale rallied to get within 22-16, but the Hubs held tight until Booth served the final point.
Serves by India Gaines and Merrbaugh pushed North to a quick 8-2 lead in the third game.
Oakdale kept it close at 17-14, but a Booth kill to win back the serve was the beginning of the end.
Weedon served out the final seven points, scoring three aces to go along with kills by Hajel, Payton Sandridge and Booth before the Bears hit match point into the net.
“This was a really good three-set win for coming back from last week’s five-set loss against (Thomas Johnson). I think it’s just more of a confidence builder,” Johnson said. “We were able to get our younger players in today and they really showed up and did a really good job.
“Everyone was able to come together, play as a team. Everybody got involved. We have to get everyone involved and that’s a huge thing.”
