Broadneck senior Dallas Jasper smiles when she talks about her teammates. "They're all just babies," she said.

They grew up in a big way Thursday night, as the No. 5 Bruins needed little more than an hour to beat host and second-ranked Severna Park, 25-22, 25-18, 25-13, in a key Anne Arundel County league game. Jasper, one of only five seniors, led Broadneck (6-1, 5-0) with five kills and three blocks.

"We worked super hard to get here," Bruins coach Dave Verostic said. "Our practices are tough, and we do things that I bet no one else in the state of Maryland does. We work on being mentally tough, and it paid off here."

Did it ever. The Bruins attacked the net all night, and led for most of the match. They outserved, outdefended and outhustled the Falcons most of the match.

"It was all mental for us," said sophomore setter Jordyn Beans, who finished with 19 assists. "We stayed in system and controlled the flow of the game. We really worked well together."

Severna Park (6-1, 4-1) led for most of the first game, but Broadneck caught them at 22-22 after a kill by Sydney Myers. The Bruins used an ace by Amanda Sanabi and kills by Jasper and Beans to score the next three points and take the set, 25-22.

Broadneck led the entire second game. The Falcons cut the lead to three, at 15-12, but a thundering kill from Jasper extended the Bruins' lead to 16-12, and they coasted to a 25-18 win.

The third game was Beans' time to shine. The sophomore served seven straight winners to break a 3-3 tie and give the Bruins a 10-3 lead. Severna Park got no closer than three points after that.

Broadneck has remained a strong program in recent years, but it has struggled to reach the level it attained in the mid-2000s, when the Bruins — lead by Jordyn's father, Romonzo Beans — won four state titles in seven years. Verostic has brought a new system, and a new toughness, to the team.

'I like him as a coach," Jasper said. "He's tough on us, and he's very intense. He's really different."

For his part, Verostic — who used to coach at Severna Park — acknowledged that the game was somewhat personal. When asked whether he took any satisfaction in returning to Severna Park and winning, he smiled and said, "What do you think?" He quickly shifted his focus back to the team, though.

"We have 16 girls on the team, and we are so deep," Verostic said. "I could play anyone from No. 1 to No. 16. [Playing Severna Park] is always a big mental contest. These are two evenly matched teams, but we were just more mentally tough."