Volleyball: River Hill tops field in Gator Invitational

With only one week left in the Howard County volleyball regular season, River Hill is the last remaining undefeated team at 11-0. And if the Hawks' performance at last weekend's Gator Invitational is any indication, they'll have little trouble wrapping up a 13-0 season and the county title.

The Hawks defeated St. Paul's School for Girls Saturday at Reservoir, 25-11, 25-22, to defend their championship at the second annual Gator Invitational.

"Our team did a really good job of not getting down when the other teams were ahead and we just played our game," said setter Caitlin Davis. "We've done a really good job of staying together as a team."

River Hill middle hitter Amber Wiswell, a senior transfer from Southern California, shared co-tournament MVP honors with Reservoir middle hitter Kelsea Belt.

Earlier in the week, Belt set a Reservoir school record with 25 kills in a win over Marriotts Ridge, and had 47 kills in a span of two matches.

River Hill trailed St. Paul's, 20-17, in the second set of the championship match on Saturday, but all of that changed when Wiswell rotated into the front row. The 6-foot-2 middle recorded two kills and a point block among the Hawks' last four points to complete the comeback.

"Whenever the pass was good I just tried to set (Wiswell) because she's a really good hitter, she can just hit over the block," Davis said.

Centennial's Trisha Mockapetris (36 kills, 23 digs) was also named to the all- tournament team, and the field included such volleyball powerhouses as Northern and defending state champion Towson, teams that River Hill could see in the upcoming playoffs, along with local rivals Centennial and Reservoir.

"This is great because we (played) five of the best (teams) in the state," coach Lynn Paynter said. "I think it really prepares us. We saw how different teams played, some of them were stronger outside, some of them were stronger middles, some were better serving teams, so it was really good for us to be pushed in every game."