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| Poolesville senior Chelsea Glowacki led all scoring with 10 kills, including this huge spike. | |||||
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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
As senior middle blocker Chelsea Glowacki said, Poolesville has long felt like the better team when it steps onto the court. After all, for the second straight season, the Falcons entered the playoffs as undefeated Montgomery County champions.
That was the case yet again Monday night as Poolesville faced defending 1A champion South Carroll in the state semifinals at the University of Maryland’s Richie Coliseum.
But unlike last season, the Falcons have learned not to look past anyone.
Poolesville swept South Carroll, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13, to reach the state finals for the fourth time in seven years but first since 2005. Glowacki led the scoring with 10 kills while fellow senior Jessica Chittenden added eight.
“I definitely felt like we were the better team out there and nothing could stop us,” Glowacki said.
The Falcons (18-0) will face Howard County’s Glenelg (10-10) Friday at 6 p.m. at Richie Coliseum. Last season Poolesville lost in the 1A region semifinals to Boonesboro. It wasn’t that the Falcons played poorly, but in the end, it still was a shortened season.
“It was pretty shocking,” said senior setter Jenny Better, who had 24 assists. “I think in a way we got talked up to where we thought we had it too early. We were looking too far ahead.”
“I think it gave them more of a purpose,” Poolesville Coach Fran DuVall added.
Poolesville entered this season with lofty expectations yet again as the team returned seven seniors. The Falcons went about business as usual as they didn’t even drop a game until the regional semifinals against Williamsport.
The Falcons were back to their dominant ways on Monday, just three days after Friday’s regional final win over Fort Hill. They scored the first eight points of the match and built an eventual 19-6 lead.
“When we get started and we get on a roll we definitely get that intensity and confidence and we keep going,” Better said.
South Carroll made a comeback to get it to 21-17 but Poolesville never buckled.
Poolesville once again started hot in the second game, building a 5-1 lead to begin with and a 21-10 advantage later in the game. Again, South County came back but the Falcons never game up the lead. South Carroll’s only lead in the entire match was when it was ahead 2-1 in the third game.
The Falcons did well on defense, controlling the ball despite South Carroll’s strong service game. They will likely get a similar game from Glenelg, who unlike the Falcons are trying to end the season with a winning record.
But despite how Glenelg’s record looks, don’t expect Poolesville to take the Gladiators lightly.
“Each opponent is just as hard as any another,” Chittenden said. “If we can take one game at a time we’ll get further in the playoffs.”
