Warren senior Madyson Long, center, signs Tuesday inside Warrior Coliseum a National Letter of Intent to continue her volleyball career at Ohio University. She is pictured with her mother, Krista, and father, Josh. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

VINCENT — Madyson Long is trading in her blue for some green.

Wednesday morning inside Warrior Coliseum, the Warren High School volleyball standout held her ceremony to celebrate the next step in the journey of being a student-athlete at the Division I level for Ohio University and head coach Geoff Carlston.

Long and her Warrior teammates just made school history by reaching the Final Four in Division IV and finishing 23-3, earning the school’s first ever regional crown and first district title since 1999.

“Never once,” replied Long when asked if she ever wavered from her verbal commitment to the Bobcats while adding “really just the campus beauty and the people that surround the campus.

“The staff, players, faculty, all of them, really sold it to me that this is the place I need to go. Also, living close to home, this is an ideal place to go. Be close to home in case anything happens, but also still live out my dream of being a Division I athlete.”

Warren’s Madyson Long, right, spikes the ball during a regional semifinal match against Meadowbrook at Pickerington North. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Long, who spent her first two seasons at Fort Frye before joining current Salem University Tiger and sister Makenna Long at WHS two years ago, helped both the Cadets and Warriors win their first Ohio Valley Athletic Conference titles.

The 2024 District Offensive Player of the Year, Long put down 419 kills with 27 blocks, 68 aces, 30 assists and 385 digs. She also was seventh in Division IV with 313 serve-receptions.

A three-time first team All-OVAC and All-District honoree, Long said she plans to major in accounting/finance with a minor in business.

“I have worked for that goal my whole life, my whole career, toward going to the collegiate level at some point, but I never thought I would go D1, just because for college I’m kind of short,” admitted Long, who also considered Marietta College and W.Va. State before sticking with Ohio to become a defensive specialist/libero. “I could potentially have the option to go outside, too. I really have no idea (about playing time).

“We have some seniors leaving that will leave some positions open for grabs. I plan on working to my full potential to get a starting spot like everybody else is. If that doesn’t happen right away I’ll keep trying to get that spot. At the Division I level it’s very hard to come in with the mindset that you are going to play your freshman year just because of all the older more up to game speed, maybe, players are.”

As far as what she might want to do after college, that’s up in the air.

“I haven’t really thought about that too much,” Long said. “I just think that when you are doing accounting and finance, whenever you work with like business people, it’s good to have an idea of how they run their business or could do business.”

One person who was definitely glad to see Long in the Warrior program was head coach Ann Skufca.

“Madyson is one of those athletes that builds a program up and she will truly be missed going into next year, but we could not be more proud of how she finished this season and left her mark here at Warren,” said the coach.

Long finished her career with 1,443 kills, 1,177 digs, 174 blocks, 208 aces, 71 assists and 873 serve-receptions.

“I give all credit to God,” said the Warrior. “I mean I can’t do anything without him. Also, my family for bringing me to every volleyball game, practice, anything supporting me through that. My other families, my friends, my coaches, everybody that believed in me really because I’ve had some coaches that told me I would never make it to this level. My first years at Fort Frye I never felt like I ever had some type of sisterhood.

“It was just kind of girls playing together. There was never a bond, connection. When I came to Warren, not only did I have my sister connection, but all these girls around me became my sisters and I feel it’s going to be really hard to leave that, but at the same time I know that I have what it takes to make better connections with those at OU. I mean I’ve learned how to maintain those relationships in a good way.”

The honor roll student, though, isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I worry a little bit on the studying part because you have to have like so many hours of studying a week and with traveling it might be a little hard to get all that studying in, but I think I’m disciplined enough to where I will always work on my work before I have to become an athlete,” Long admitted. “I’ll stay up late at night and do it and yield the consequences of being tired.”

Although Long said she won’t be competing for her travel team ALETA this year, she plans to be in plenty of gyms to work on her craft and also hit the weights this summer.

“There’s always things you can work on,” Long said. “This year I really just focused on taking my skills and abilities and passing it down to the youngers so that they may have some time to develop those skills a little more.”

Despite an expected position change, Long is looking forward to her future as a Bobcat while never forgetting her time at Warren High School.

“I won’t be giving up the attack completely,” she said. “I’ll be hitting out of the back row. That’s definitely something I’m excited about, but I think it will be fun to learn a whole new position and maybe even keep going with the one I have. I think that (Final Four) means a lot to us. Not only did we make it that far, but we kept our relationship strong.

“We kept going even though we were tired and we were burnt out. We just really found that drive in us to be the best we could be. I feel like that feeling that we did it will live with us forever. It’s an exciting feeling. I’ve never felt anything like it before. I just want to thank the community for being so adamant about watching our games and coming to support us every chance they got whenever we needed them most.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com