Broadneck Volleyball Looking Formidable Early On

When last we saw the Broadneck volleyball team, they were taking lessons from their state championship match appearance and taking stock for another run in 2025.

Approaching the midway point of the 2025 season, things are starting to click.

The Bruins sit at 6-1, having won in different ways and having only been topped by Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland juggernaut Annapolis Area Christian School.

Broadneck has swept aside most of their opponents but faced a unique test against upstart Severn Run — in which they rallied from a steep third-set deficit to complete the sweep — and rallied from a set down to outlast rival Severna Park in five sets.

The rivalry tilt in particular, coming in just the Bruins’ third game of the season, gave a great advertisement for local volleyball and a stern reminder that everyone is gunning for Broadneck.

“I feel like both teams were playing really well, and it was a good test,” said Broadneck coach Tracey Regalbuto.

With the Falcons limiting standout outside hitter Kennedy Smith, it fell to the other known supporting cast, including outside hitter Anna Graves and setter Sydney Lawrence, to carry the load.

And they got some contributions from a quality freshman class that is only further bolstering Broadneck’s depth and quality.

“We have way more hitters than just Kennedy. I thought (freshman) Camryn Bedell played amazing, and she picked up especially in set five,” Regalbuto said. “(I) thought our libero played amazing, and Sydney … I thought they were fighting the whole time.”

In addition to those two wins, Broadneck swept Crofton, St. John’s, Meade and South River to put themselves in the driver’s seat for another county championship appearance.

The loss to Annapolis Area Christian School, while it counts in the standings, served as a quality measuring stick for a team hoping to be at its best when the playoffs roll around.

To that end, they’re tinkering with lineups and formations, figuring out the best way to maximize talent and cohesion on the floor. That involves getting new talent involved and asking even three-year starters to sacrifice a little for the team.

“Sydney’s playing middle this year in the front row, which she’s never done before,” Regalbuto said of her three-year starting setter. “We asked that of her, and she’s done it with a smile on her face. It’s difficult and it’s exhausting, but she’s working overtime and I’m proud of her.”

Tests still await for Broadneck: a county championship rematch with Arundel on September 30, another trip to Musselman (West Virginia) in October, a season ending tandem against Howard and Reservoir, and then a potential tangle with Leonardtown in the region playoffs.

“It’s so early in the season. We’re still learning what we need to learn on. We’re taking things in stride, and we just keep pushing forward,” Regalbuto said. “It doesn’t matter what good teams we play during the season; our focus is on the end of the season.”