A number of familiar high school volleyball programs will take the court this week in College Park with hopes of adding another state title to their trophy cases.
Tops among those teams is Centennial (15-1), which is still in the hunt for its third straight Class 3A title and 13th title overall after defeating River Hill in the 3A East Region final. Centennial?s opponent in the Tuesday semifinal, set for 8:30 p.m. at the University of Maryland?s Ritchie Coliseum, will be 3A North champion Catonsville (17-2), which snapped Towson?s streak of six straight regional titles.
Catonsville is going after its eighth state title, but first since 1987. The Comets are hoping to accomplish that goal with a number of players that compete on a club team with members of Centennial?s squad.
In the Class 4A, Broadneck (16-1) returns to the state semifinals for the seventh straight year after defeating South River for the third time this season to capture the 4A East title. The Bruins are going after their fourth state championship and first since 2004. They face Sherwood in a Wednesday semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Ritchie Coliseum.
In the 2A, Loch Raven (15-2) won its sixth straight regional title after beating Poly in the 2A North final. Loch Raven will face North East of Cecil County (16-2) in a Wednesday semifinal at 6:30 p.m. in the Comcast Center?s auxiliary gym.
The other half of the 2A bracket features two of the top programs in the Baltimore area with Carroll County champion Liberty (16-1) facing Howard County champion Reservoir (18-1). Liberty is going after its third title in four years, while Reservoir is playing for its first state crown. This match is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Comcast?s auxiliary gym.
The 1A state semifinals will be played Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the same Comcast site. All four state finals will be played Saturday at Ritchie Coliseum.
