MD-DC Volleyball semi-finals set for Friday
It was a good day for three IAAM teams yesterday in the quarterfinals of the 2007 MD-DC Private Schools Volleyball tournament. St. Paul's School for Girls, Archbishop Spalding and Mount de Sales all won and advanced to Friday's final-four round.
No. 1 seed St. Paul's (20-1) took out No. 8 seed Md School for the Deaf in three games (25-18, 25-20, 25-17), in Brooklandville. Bailey Webster led the way with 14 kills and four blocks. Jillian Unitas added nine kills, and setter Rachel Kelly had four kills, four blocks and 26 assists.
In an all-IAAM match-up, No. 3 seed Mount de Sales (16-2) defeated No. 6 seed Maryvale Prep, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19), in Catonsville. Kasey Mercier paced the Sailors with 10 kills and 13 digs.
In another quarter-final match, No. 4 seed Spalding (17-3) had to go four games (26-24, 25-17, 12-25, 25-23), but came away with a 3-1 win over No. 5 seed St. John's (DC). Stephanie Howard nailed 14 kills. Gaby Mazzola was 25 for 25 serving along with four aces and four kills. "Gaby did a great job playing for outside hitter Kelly Galligan, who had to move to the middle with our regular middle out sick," said Cavalier Coach Scott Rombach.
Andrea Catuccci was 15/16 serving and added 22 assists. Galligan, filling in at the middle spot, was 14/14 serving and had eight kills. Emily Snyder was 13/14 serving, and Jenn Rindone was 9 of 10 with six kills.
The semi-finals are on Friday, Nov 9, at Pallotti. Here are the final four match-ups:
No. 1 seed St. Paul's (20-1) vs No. 4 seed Spalding (17-3) ... 3:30 pm
No. 2 seed Good Counsel (26-1) vs No. 3 seed Mount de Sales (16-2) ... 5:30 pm
The one semi-final makes for an intriguing match-up. Last year, Spalding defeated St. Paul's SfG to win the IAAM A-Conference title, and then a week later St. Paul's turned the tables by defeating Spalding in this same tournament. This season, it was St. Paul's winning the IAAM A championship, and the two meet again the following week in the MD-DC tourney.
The other match pits the Sailors, who tied with SPSG and Spalding for first-place in the regular season, against Good Counsel, the Washington DC Metro champ.
--Mike Buchanan