Mount Hebron setter Kai Scott played a nearly flawless match to lead the Vikings over No. 7 Loch Raven, 15-12, 13-15, 15-2, 15-6, in a Class 2A, Region II volleyball semifinal last night at Loch Raven.
Two-time defending state champs, the Vikings used excellent serving, Scott's dead-eye setting and Volleyball
a balanced hitting attack to knock the top-seeded Raiders (13-2) out of the regional playoffs for the third straight year.
Scott, a 5-foot-9 senior, also made several saves and even slammed down a couple points of her own. With few exceptions, Scott's sets were perfect.
"She's the best setter I've ever seen," said Loch Raven coach Carol MacPherson. "She was the big difference in this match."
Scott got a lot of fine passes from her teammates, but she made the tough ones look easy, too. Her assists helped Megan Waterfield to eight kills and Kelly Quinn to seven. Dani Vissers and Lia Kaltreider had three each.
In the third game, Scott hit a powerful spike of a teammate's pass to the net. It seemed to the turn the momentum of the match to the Vikings for good.
With Mount Hebron leading 4-2 in that critical third game, the Raiders were struggling to stay in the match. The Raiders appeared to be gaining control after Christina Bhanos and Tiffani Tucker pounded down kills for back-to-back sideouts. But Scott's kill gave the ball back to Mount Hebron.
Quinn took over the serve and finished off the game. The sophomore served up three aces in the 11-point Vikings' run.
In the fourth game, Loch Raven managed leads of 4-3 and 6-4, but the Vikings' serves gave the Raiders trouble. The serve changed hands 13 times after the Raiders took their 6-4 lead, but Loch Raven couldn't manage another point.
The Raiders suffered a letdown after a tremendous match Saturday night that gave them the Baltimore County championship in three games over Perry Hall.
"We just couldn't pass their serves," said MacPherson. "That's why we didn't have the hitting. When Christina [Bhanos] got set, she could put it away, but we couldn't get a set."