COLUMBIA, MD — With all of its seniors on the floor, Oakland Mills came through with an inspired performance on Tuesday night as the Scorpions honored all of their graduating players.
Ultimately, though, Hammond junior Lauryn Terry proved to be too much for the home team to overcome.
Terry, a 6-foot-3 middle hitter who has committed to play for North Carolina State after her senior season, tallied 11 kills and three point blocks in Hammond's 25-16, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24 victory, including match point.
"She was definitely huge," coach Anne Corey said. She has developed "immensely. Her passing is huge this year, she definitely has more court awareness. We're trying to keep her out of the net but other than that she's doing a really good job talking and being a force up there. She just has to put her arms up and people are scared."
Junior Shawnice King added four kills, while co-captains Maddie Cheney and Brianna Myers (4 aces) each had three kills. Junior libero Catie Chervenak had 15 digs for the Golden Bears (3-5).
After dropping the first set, the Scorpions (0-8) rallied behind a spirited crowd of their classmates to emphatically win the second set by five points.
"It was intimidating having a gym full of Oakland Mills screaming fans," Corey said. "We definitely have played cleaner in the past but we are very happy with the win."
All eight departing Scorpion seniors contributed to the strong performance: Raven Blount (two aces and a kill in the second set), Kendall Davis (two kills, two aces in the final set), Cassie Neely (back-to-back service points to extend fourth set), Hannah Larsen (three aces plus winning serve in second set), Allia Mostafa (seven-point service run with two aces in second set), Reanna Schjang (third and fourth set kills), Julia Boras (four kills, three aces in the fourth set), and Sam Davis (strong serving and defense at the net).
"I knew they could do it," coach Shelby Foley said. "It was a great game and we played all seniors the whole night. They did what they were supposed to do."