Leonardtown volleyball team ends its run as state finalist
Raiders swept by Arundel in 4A title match
After growing accustomed to competing in demanding, dramatic, five-set matches during the postseason, the Leonardtown High School volleyball team returned to Harford Community College on Nov. 18 for the 4A state championship match against Arundel hoping to draw on its flare for dramatics.
But in the program’s first state final appearance in school history, Leonardtown was unable to successfully complete its vintage Cinderella journey. Each of the three sets played out along parallel lines, and eventually the Arundel High School Wildcats captured their second state crown in three years by sweeping the Raiders, 25-21, 25-19, 2520. In each set, Arundel was able to embark on pivotal runs that Leonardtown was simply unable to overcome.
“They’re a great team,” said Leonardtown coach Steve Correll. “Their middle hitter [Zaria Ragler] was the difference. She’s going to Ohio State [University] for a reason. She’s a tremendous player. Our girls fought hard the whole match. I love these girls — they’re all like my daughters.”
Two days earlier, Leonardtown punched its ticket to the state finals by sweeping previously unbeaten Wootton High of Montgomery County, 25-15, 25-23, 25-19. Even that match was in genuine contrast to a number of preceding outings when the Raiders needed five sets to upend Northern for the SMAC championship, Broadneck in the 4A east region final and then Urbana in the state quarterfinals.
Leonardtown could not have started the state finals any slower, watching Arundel forge a 6-0 lead with senior setter Abigail Niles serving and middle hitter Zaria Ragler delivering three early kills. But the Raiders
weathered the storm and fought back to draw even at 16-all courtesy of brief service runs from Mia Huff, Shannen Litten and Julia Bobrowski.
But Arundel closed out the opening set nearly as strongly as it had started, with a service run by Ragler giving the Wildcats a 20-16 lead and the two teams traded side-out points over much of the duration. A kill by Litten off a Snyder set brought the Raiders within 24-20 and an ace from Bobrowski trimmed the gap to 24-21 before a hitting error ended the opening set.
“We were right there the whole time,” Bobrowski said. “It was dig or die. They had some great runs, but we had some great runs of our own. We played well, but
they just played a little better.”
Leonardtown actually scored the first two points of the second set, but the Wildcats answered immediately with a service run from Niles for a 7-2 lead. A service run from Bobrowski brought the Raiders even at 7-all and the teams on four more occasions until Arundel forged a 16-11 lead. Again the Wildcats were content to trade side-out points and prevailed when Ragler delivered a kill off a Niles set.
“It was actually a lot of fun,” Newton said. “We really enjoyed the moment. It wasn’t the outcome that we wanted, but we came here ready to play our best match and we stayed right there with them. Arundel’s a great team. They have a lot of great players. They definitely deserved it.”
Niles again gave the Wildcats an early lead in the third set, but the Raiders limited her success and later a service run
from Snyder gave Leonardtown a 7-5 lead. But the Wildcats countered with a 5-0 run with Emily Liu serving that gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Arundel pushed the margin to 14-9, but the Raiders climbed back to within a point at 20-19 with Snyder serving.
But the Raiders could not sustain the rally. Following a hitting error by Litten, Arundel extended the lead to 24-19 with Liu serving. Snyder set Emily Boyd for a kill that ket the Raiders alive briefly, but the Wildcats ended it when they successfully returned a Newton serve and attained match point when Arundel blocked a kill attempt from Bobrowski.
While they may have been foiled in their attempt to capture the 4A State title, the Leonardtown volleyball team attained numerous accolades during the campaign, including the SMAC championship.