Alison Griffith prepares to strike for Boonsboro during its victory over Glenelg at the University of Maryland. The Warriors advanced to the state finals for the first time since 1984.
Glenelg's Liz Slick sends the volleyball back over during Monday's state semifinal game. The Gladiators finished 13-6 on the season.
Very rarely the outcome of a volleyball match is decided within the first couple of minutes. Last night's Class 1A state semifinal game between Boonsboro High School and Glenelg was one of those occassions.
Gladiators setter Casey Schmidt went down, and Boonsboro took advantage sweeping them, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-13, at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. The Washington County school will play either South Carroll for the state championship, Saturday evening at 5 p.m. at Ritchie Coliseum. South Carroll defeated Havre de Grace in four games in the other semifinal.
Amber Nalley had a game-high 10 kills for Boonsboro (13-4), and Tara Garver finished with 10 assists and five kills. Sabrina Winterling led Glenelg with eight kills and three aces, and sophomore Hannah Gaw had 13 assists, replacing Schmidt.
Schmidt, a sophomore, injured her foot in the early stages of the first game, and watched the remainder of the contest from the bench with her foot wrap. Though Gaw filled in admirably, Glenelg coach Don Beall said losing Schmidt was a mental blow to the Gladiators, seeking its first state championship since 2005.
"Losing has Casey really got us out of whack," said Beall. "As well as Hannah did, Hannah was just brought up for the jayvee. She does well practice and I had confidence put her in, but that's a tough spot to put a 10th grader in."
"Defensively, I don't think we played the game that we were capable of," said Boonsboro coach Andrea Parry. "It was an unfortunate loss [Schmidt's injury] for them. She was a good player and really held their team together. I think it affected their game and kind of used that to our advantage."
The Warriors emerged with late pushes to claim the two first games, then stormed out to a 10-point lead in the third and final game. Emma Dalton had five kills, five digs and two assists for Boonsboro, which is now a victory from its first state championship since 1984.
"We're a team that likes to come out and play to win," said Parry, whose team beat previously unbeaten Poolesville and 12-time state champion Williamsport to claim the West Region crown last week. "We just come out and pound the ball, that's what we do best."
Glenelg had an easier road in the South Region, sweeping three opponents, but it wasn't without bumps. Beall said starting sophomore outside hitter Eliza Bittner sprained her ankle during warmups for the region title game against Digital Harbor Friday, and didn't play and missed Monday's state semifinal match. The Gladiators would suffer an even major blow.
Leading 10-8 in the first game, Schmidt rolled her ankle while digging out a ball. She managed to get back into the play and set Amber Winterling for a kill, then went to the bench. Boonsboro scored seven straight points to claim a 15-11 advantage.
"We've been working so hard with each other," said Glenelg hitter Briana Allen. "She's our go-to person. We really rely on her, more than I think we knew before today."
The Warriors closed out the first game with an ace by Nalley. The Gladiators had a 17-15 in the second game after an ace by Gaw and sideout by Boonsboro, but a kill by Katie Gantz started a brief four points Warrior run and never trailed again.
"Their outside hitters did a nice job," said Beall. "They hit the ball pretty hard and pass well. I didn't think they did anything we haven't seen before, I just thought we're so out of sync."
Boonsboro will try to finish the season with an eighth straight victory and first state title in three decades, facing South Carroll in a rematch of a regular season match. The Cavaliers posted a 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19 decision over Havre de Grace, for their first title game appearance since 1994. Juniors Caitlin Sengebusch and Lindsay Will each had nine kills for South Carroll, which was swept by Boonsboro in mid-October.