The Centennial volleyball team is playing an unfamiliar role this postseason: that of the underdog. After losing to Atholton, Glenelg and River Hill during Howard County league play, the Eagles (12-4) earned the fifth seed in the 3A East regional tournament.
"I've been telling the girls all season, we have to play David to everyone else's Goliath. If we try to play Goliath, we're going to lose," coach Larry Schofield said.
The loss to Atholton on Sept. 27 ended a 49-match winning streak in league play for Centennial, dating back to 2007.
But now the Eagles are working toward earning their reputation back.
Centennial defeated Atholton (10-6) Monday night in a regional quarterfinal match, 16-25, 25-17, 25-11, 22-25, 15-10.
Trisha Mockapetris led the Eagles to victory with 16 kills, 23-for-24 serving, 13 digs and two blocks. Sara Przybyla, Cici White-Torruellas (two blocks) and Jessie Link added six kills each. Kristen Ritchie (three aces, 16 digs), Jaimie Fabling (five blocks, 12 digs), Grace Chao (19 assists, 12 digs), Lexi White-Torruellas (17 assists, 11 digs) and Anna Kearns (26 digs) also led Centennial to victory.
Across the county, county champion River Hill (14-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season — 3-1 to Arundel in the District V title match last Wednesday — by sweeping Mt. Hebron (8-7).
River Hill will now host Centennial in a Wednesday semifinal. Last year, Centennial hosted River Hill in the 3A East championship. Centennial won that meeting in a match for the ages, finally prevailing in the fifth set, 25-23.
Centennial was one of only three teams to take a set from the Hawks during the regular season.
"We know what we have to do … we've got a goal set to make it to the regional finals," Schofield said. "(River Hill) is a much bigger hurdle, but if we can serve and pass a little better we can be OK."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the 3A East bracket, Howard and Reservoir each embarked on five-hour round trips across the Bay Bridge and back. Both teams made the road trip worthwhile, though, coming home with three game sweeps. Reservoir (12-4) took out Stephen Decatur, while Howard (6-9) blanked J.M. Bennett. Both results were repeat performances from the 2010 playoffs.
Reservoir, which beat Howard twice during the regular season, will now host the Lions in a Wednesday semifinal match
2A South
The 2A South bracket had a five-set thriller of its own. Patuxent, which had already eliminated Long Reach (2-12) from the playoffs last week, seemed on the verge of knocking off its second straight Howard County team. The Panthers won the first two sets at Glenelg, 26-24 and 25-20.
But Glenelg (12-2) was not yet ready for its season to come to an end. The Gladiators roared back, winning the final three sets emphatically, 25-14, 25-13, 15-7.
"Unbelievable three-game comeback, it was just remarkable," coach Don Beall said. "(My players) are pretty tough."
Aly Dillon led the Gladiators with four aces, while Long, Morgan Perry and Sarah Girard contributed three each.
Perry led Glenelg with 15 kills, while Erin Jollata (9) and Dillon (7) combined for 16 more.
At the net, Molly Calvert (4) and Camryn Long (3) led the way with a combined seven point blocks.
The Gladiators will now host Marriotts Ridge (10-6) Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the 2A South regional semifinals. The Mustangs have swept Southern and McDonough so far in the playoffs.
In the win over McDonough in the quarterfinals on Monday, Robin Laux had 10 kills and two aces, while Lindsay Bay and Dana Koehler had four kills each.
In two regular season meetings, Glenelg defeated Marriotts Ridge with both matches going the distance.
Last year, Marriotts Ridge defeated Glenelg in the 2A South semifinals and won in five sets on its way to the state championship match.
On the other side of the bracket, Oakland Mills (2-15) fell to second-seeded Calvert, 25-13, 25-15, 25-16.
The Scorpions won their second match of the season in the opening round, sweeping Gwynn Park on Friday.
In that match, Oakland Mills had 30 aces. Asma Quayumi had 12 of them, while Shannen McKay (five kills) and Heidi Larsen (10 assists) also led the way to victory.