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Two teams, two outlooks, two standards.
Broadneck and Severna Park start their volleyball seasons in different places with different goals. One team is hoping to go a step further and claim some hardware, while the other is angling to take a step forward after two years of playing a young squad to gain experience.
The two teams will lock horns September 16 at Broadneck.
After finally getting over the hump both locally and statewide, winning the county championship and reaching the state championship match, Broadneck is hoping to go one step further and complete the job.
The Bruins are well positioned to do just that, bringing back 11 players from last season, including all-county honorees Sydney Lawrence, Kennedy Smith and Anna Graves.
Such a seasoned group gained confidence from beating Arundel in the county championship and learned some lessons in a defeat by Richard Montgomery in the 4A championship.
It is those two matches that the team will carry forward, in addition to the seasoned experience of three-year starters in multiple positions.
Head coach Tracey Regalbuto said the team “is happy about last season’s success but not satisfied with the end result. We are hoping to make it back to that position” and for a different outcome.
Key regular season games for the Bruins include a matchup with Arundel on September 30, as well as crossover games against Annapolis Area Christian on September 22 and Howard on October 21.
After taking some lumps the last two years with a young squad laden with underclassmen, the Falcons are hoping to take a big step forward in 2025.
They return two players who received all-county nods last season in setter Genevieve Willis and outside hitter Lizzie Ranaghan. Between those two and returning setter Jennifer Hong and right-sided attacker Maggie Morgan, Severna Park boasts experience with multi-year starters at several positions.
Second-year coach Caitlin Mills told the Voice that having two setters and a slew of defensive specialists back allows them to be more flexible in attack. But a collective lack of height will force the team to be creative in that attack, something having such flexibility should help.
The Falcons are looking forward to key games in succession in early October that will give them a measuring stick to see where they’re at: they host Arundel on October 7 and then Crofton two days later.
Note: Information for Severn School and Archbishop Spalding was not received by press time.
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