This time, the Boys’ Latin volleyball team got off to a better start than in its last meeting with Gilman in mid-October. But the ending looked all too familiar.
Gilman swept the Lakers for the third time this season, winning the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference volleyball championship at St. Paul’s School Saturday night.
The senior-laden Greyhounds made it two titles in a row, defeating Boys’ Latin, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23.
Gilman finished 18-0, needing only 58 minutes to defeat the Lakers, even though the Greyhounds were pushed to the finish in the final two games.
“We have been waiting for this since the summer,” said senior middle hitter Zack Cohen, who had seven kills. “We knew we would be in this position. All year, we had been working, working and working. Overall, it just came down to heart and we wanted it more.”
Gilman received strong performances from a number of players. Senior Torben Ginsberg recorded 10 kills, senior Ben Moore totaled nine kills and six blocks, senior Jack Auen had 25 assists, sophomore Charlie Darby contributed 25 digs, and senior Michael Collins added 22 digs, 8 kills and 3 aces.
“We didn’t have one star on this team, and I think that’s what differentiated us from the last few years,” Gilman coach Neil Gabbey said. “As MIAA volleyball has progressed for the last dozen years, we never really had the best player in the league. But I think every coach in the league would maybe trade his best player for three or four of mine.”
Boys’ Latin (14-4) stayed close for a while in the first set. After an 8-8 tie, Gilman picked up its play and went on an 8-3 run, which was highlighted by kills from Moore and Ben Gantt.
After the Lakers pulled to within 16-12, Gilman started to pull away with a 5-0 spurt.
Gilman then put Boys’ Latin on the brink of defeat with a hard-fought 25-22 win in Game 2.
The Greyhounds led, 19-13, before the Lakers rallied to tie it at 22 as they were led by the play of Luke Murray and Joe Santangelo (10 kills).
Gilman took advantage of some errors to score the last three points, including a center-court violation on the last point.
The Lakers didn’t go quietly in the third game, either.
Boys’ Latin led, 10-6. Gilman fought back to tie it at 15-15 and went ahead 22-18. The Lakers ran off four straight to make it 22-22. As in the Game 2, the Greyhounds finished strong to win another title.
“No one has touched them this season,” said Boys’ Latin coach Drew Haugh, whose team also received solid performances from Michael Morsberger (10 kills) and Avery Engel (12 digs, 3 blocks, 3 kills). “These are probably the closest games they’ve had with that type of intensity."
