‘We all ended up at the same spot’: Family support helped Mars’ Duker twins make state playoff runs
It’s impossible to be two places at once.
Or is it?
At North Allegheny High School on Saturday, Nov. 9, Dan and Susan Duker found a way to see their twin daughters, Hailey and Morgan, compete for Mars in their respective PIAA playoff contests.
“We were able to run back and forth through the parking lot,” Susan said.
With all of the exciting chaos that came with following the twins around through their teams’ state tournament games — Hailey has one more game when Mars faces Pope John Paul II in Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A volleyball championship game at 3:30 p.m. at Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg — that afternoon was the highlight for the family.
Susan started out attending Morgan’s girls soccer quarterfinal against South Fayette at Newman Stadium. At halftime, Susan joined her husband at the nearby gym to catch some of Hailey’s volleyball match of the same round against Hampton.
Both wound up over at the field to see the finish of a 1-0 Planets win, then hurried back to the gym to cheer Hailey to a 3-2 victory. Morgan and her teammates did, too.
“I think when they all came, it gave our team a lot of energy,” Hailey said.
The last few weeks have been a welcome whirlwind for everyone in the family.
“We didn’t expect to both be this far into it,” Morgan said. “Our paths were so different, but we all ended up at the same spot — aside from last game.
“Having state games on the same nights every night was definitely chaotic because I wanted to go to her games and support her and she wanted to come to mine, obviously.”
Even with the emotions that accompanied the scheduling conflicts.
For the parents, the most difficult part of it all was deciding who would attend which game, all of which were played on a Tuesday or Saturday. Their divide-and-conquer approach hinged largely on logistics and Dan’s work schedule.
“Neither of them will play (their) sport after the season is over,” Susan said. “Any of these games could’ve been their last game. I was just enjoying the ride.”
“Since we’re seniors, we had more of a role this year,” said Morgan, who tore her ACL early in her junior season and had to battle back to play this one. “We had an impact on how our (team’s) performance was doing each game.”
Dan was in Altoona for the end of Morgan’s high school soccer career, a 4-0 defeat to Lower Dauphin. Win or loss, he knew it was the last time he’d see her play for the Planets because work would’ve kept him from being at Friday’s PIAA Class 3A final.
Dan said if not for a freak injury Hailey suffered as a fifth-grader, his daughters would’ve likely been playing together that night. Soccer wasn’t the same for Hailey after that.
“I was running down the field and I was a defender, so I got pushed over and I fell backwards onto both my arms,” Hailey said. “I broke both of my wrists. In gym class in middle school, I was actually told that I was really good at volleyball. ... I decided I should try out volleyball and try something new.”
Hailey wanted Morgan to reach the state final, too. Still, Hailey’s proud of her and the soccer team for how far they came. Morgan, along with their parents and older sister, Katie, will be in the stands at Cumberland Valley High School’s gym Saturday afternoon to see the final game of Hailey’s volleyball career.
“It is bittersweet, but it’s great because Morgan is going to be able to watch her sister play,” Dan said. “I think it’ll just be a different perspective because she’s going to be able to be there (with) no stress on her shoulders anymore.”
Morgan’s support is genuine. She knows Hailey would be just as thrilled if roles were reversed.
“I’m so excited for her that she’s able to have the opportunity to go there,” Morgan said. “I’m just excited to see her play and make it about her. I think it’s good for her that she gets to have that moment for herself and her team.
“It was never a competition about who could go the furthest. As long as one of our teams was still in, it (would be) a good moment for both of us.”
