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A dream season ended with a dream realized for Morgan Yoder.

An outstanding fall season turned even better Thursday for the Polk County senior as she signed a letter-of-intent to continue her volleyball career at Mars Hill College, making that decision official during a ceremony in the PCHS auditorium.

The signing capped a whirlwind week for Yoder, who informed Mars Hill coaches on Tuesday evening of her decision to join the Lions program. But there was nothing hasty about her desire to play at the collegiate level – that has been around for quite some time.

“This is a huge deal for me,” Yoder said. “Since I was a little girl, even playing rec volleyball, I dreamed of this. I never wanted to give up on my dream.

“It doesn’t sound real, it doesn’t feel real to me. I know that it is, but in my head, I’m still a Polk County High School volleyball player. I’m sure the reality will set in soon.”

A four-year starter at Polk County, Yoder has been a fixture at middle hitter since joining the Wolverine program. She finished her career with 1,014 kills, topping the 1,000-kill mark early in Polk’s state championship win over Perquimans. She also recorded 358 total blocks, 184 aces and 496 digs.

Polk County head coach Molly Hill thinks the chance is there for Yoder to make a similar impact as a college player. And perhaps soon.

“I think this is going to be an opportunity for her where she can step in as a freshman and hopefully see some substantial playing time and really contribute to the team, and that’s exciting for her,” Hill said. “I know that is something that she is very excited about and willing to work for.

“The thing about Morgan is that she just really wants it and she wants to contribute. She wants to put in the work. She’s one of those who is really good at the volleyball IQ side of things – not just the physical part of volleyball, but breaking down film, breaking down scouting reports, really studying the game. That’s a lot of what it is in college. You’ve got specific practices where you’re just watching film or you’re just doing scouting. I think she’s really going to thrive.”

Yoder first heard from Mars Hill coaches just prior to the start of the season. It didn’t take her long to consider the Division II Lions, who play in the South Athletic Conference, as her top choice, the school and team checking off many of the boxes on her must-have list.

“I really liked the coaches, first of all,” Yoder said. “I like the campus, I like that it’s close to home. That was something that was a huge deal to me, I wanted to stay close to home.

“And I really liked the girls on the team and the chemistry they have. They seemed funny and close together, and that was important to me as well. I want my team to feel like a family.”

The family feel was also a key part of Polk County’s back-to-back state titles, with Yoder part of a senior class that included college-bound teammates Mia Bradley and Sophia Overholt. Bradley is bound for University of Virginia’s College at Wise, also a member of the SAC, which means she may be staring across the net at Yoder in the near future.

“It will be different playing against her,” Yoder said. “That was actually one of my other schools that I was looking at, UVA Wise, and we were looking at the possibility of playing together. Now playing against each other will be a little different.

“We’ve played against each other during club volleyball, so it’s not a never happened before kind of thing. But it’s definitely going to be different.”

Reaching 1,000 kills. Most Valuable Player of the state final. Mountain Foothills 7 Offensive Player of the Year. 1A All-State selection. Officially bound for college volleyball.

It’s been a pretty good November for Yoder, capping another state championship with putting her future plans in place.

“The state championship game was a huge game for me, personally,” she said. “Also for the team, but for myself, I got my 1,000th kill and MVP, and that was a great way to end that.

“And now, adding on to it and branching off, it’s just perfect for me. I’m really happy about the way everything ended up. For me to be able to have this chance means a lot, and I’m grateful.”