Second-ranked Glenelg gave J.M. Bennett some volleyball lessons last night - and it's a course the Eastern Shore school would rather not have taken in a state semifinal match.
The Gladiators, except for some second-game sloppiness, schooled J.M. Bennett on passing and net play and had little trouble in scoring a 15-4, 15-9, 15-0 win in a Class 2A state semifinal last night at CCBC-Essex.
Glenelg (19-0) advanced to Saturday's noon final at CCBC-Catonsville against top-ranked Towson. The Gladiators made last year's state title match, but Towson swept them in three Straight games.
To return to the state final, Glenelg had to get past a J.M. Bennett team that entered with a 15-match winning streak. But the Clippers clearly couldn't match the Gladiators in passing or net play. Glenelg setter Tara Stradling sparked the offense with 27 assists and helped the team take advantage of its edge in height.
The Gladiators had three 6-foot-1 starters (Sarah Tursell, Cheyenne Davidson and Adrienne McGill), but J.M. Bennett (17-2) had only one player taller than 5-9 and none who were 6-0. That's why the Gladiators won most of their points at the net.
Top hitter Tursell was quiet early but came on late to finish with a match-high 11 kills. McGill added eight while Michelle Morgan had seven. Glenelg's lone bad stretch came midway through the second game. A bunch of errors allowed the Clippers to close to 10-9, but after a timeout, the Gladiators went on to score the match's final 20 points.
"We tried to spread the ball around tonight," said Glenelg coach Jennifer Beall. "The first and third games were [fine], but I was very frustrated in the second game."
J.M. Bennett was watching Tursell, who entered the match averaging nearly three kills a game, but the Gladiators were deceptive with their passes at the net. They slowed the Clippers' defense with their fakes at the net.
"Their offense was really hard to read," said J.M. Bennett coach Peggy Troiano. "We had a difficult time with it."
The passing was there early as the Gladiators jumped to a 6-1 lead in Game 1. J.M. Bennett battled back to 9-4 before Glenelg reeled off the final six points to win.
After J.M Bennett closed to 10-9 in the second game, Tursell had some big kills that helped Glenelg score the final five points.
The final game was all Glenelg. Kelly Hollrah had three aces during her five-point service run that helped the Gladiators to a 9-0 lead.
"When our passing is on, our offense is awesome," McGill said. "I hope we do a lot better Saturday than we did last year."