As Glenelg setter Tara Stradling plotted each move in yesterday's Class 2A state volleyball championship, her options seemed limitless.
Towering Gladiators hitters waited almost anywhere Strad-ling sent the ball, overwhelming No. 1 and defending champion Towson.
The 6-foot-1 trio of Sarah Tursell, Cheyenne Davidson and Adrienne McGill, as well as 5-10 Michelle Morgan and 5-9 Shkala Karzai, used power and finesse to hit open spots for the 36 kills that propelled the No. 2 Gladiators to a 15-10, 15-13, 15-12 victory at CCBC-Catonsville.
In winning their third state crown, Glenelg polished off a 20-0 season and avenged last year's title-match loss to the Generals (18-1).
With so much on the line, Stradling, who also had five kills and six aces, did an exceptional job running the multifaceted Gladiators attack.
"It's great because it's so easy to spread my offense," said Stradling, a 5-9 junior. "I can spread it to anybody I want to. Everyone is ready for the ball and anyone can put it down."
Stradling had 27 assists, varying the offense to try to keep the shorter Generals off balance. Tursell had nine kills; Morgan eight; Karzai and Davidson five each; and McGill four.
"I could hear their plays through the net," said Towson's Emily Berman. "They'll call one play and she'll go somewhere different every time. She's very good at hiding where she's going to go. She's a great setter."
The 6-1 Berman and 5-10 Stephanie Kines, both middle hitters, provided most of the Generals' offense as they have all season, but they faced a triple block. Kines, with 11 kills, and Berman, with eight, did their best to get around it, but the block certainly squelched some of their power game.
The Gladiators exuded confidence the whole match, something they did not do a year ago, when Towson swept the final.
"This year we don't get behind," Tursell said. "Last year's team had problems starting strong."
Yesterday, the Gladiators ran up a 9-1 lead to open the first game. They trailed only briefly in the match, 9-7 and 13-11, in the second game, but Glenelg reeled off the last four points.
The Baltimore County champions, who also won the Bulldog Tournament by beating Calvert, which had eliminated Glenelg in the semifinals, continued to push the Gladiators in the third game, pulling to within 11-10, but too many mistakes late in the match helped Glenelg clinch it.
The Generals missed seven serves in that last game and did not pass well, making it tough for setter Emily Williams (18 assists).
"We were off and on," Berman said. "That last game we came out with a fight. After that timeout [trailing 11-5], we were determined. We really wanted to come back and go to a fourth game, but I think we had a lapse in concentration, maybe started thinking too far ahead."
With five starters back, the Gladiators came in confident that they could win the state crown.
"When you reach that last goal, you have to win," Tursell said. "How can you work so hard all season and not win? It's a perfect season. It's amazing."