Centennial Volleyball Drops 3A State Finals

The Centennial Eagles lost to the Towson Generals 3-2 in what would be a disappointing state 3A finals match for the Howard County volleyball powerhouse at Ritchie Coliseum in College Park. The Eagles led the Generals 2-0 after winning but failed to produce in the final three matches. 

The Eagles were undefeated through the season against Howard County opponents and had played well in the playoffs through two games of the finals, having swept semifinal opponent Blake earlier in the week. Towson's younger (with all juniors starting) and smaller lineup produced great defense down the stretch and a mistake prone performance from Centennial ultimately sealed their fate.

The first game of the match would feature solid play from both teams as they set the pace for a match that would go down to the wire. Both schools' fans were loud and spirited, and the energy in the gym was palpable with both teams vying for a title. No team looked to be dominant through the first game until Centennial took their largest lead of the match at 22-18. After calling a timeout, Towson surged slightly before the Eagles were able to finish the game at 24-21.

The Eagles came out dominating early in game 2, taking a 6-1 lead and forcing a Towson timeout. But a 7-2 run by Towson would knot the score at 8-8. Centennial  regained the lead with a spike by Liz Brown and the teams vied back and forth until Centennial pulled ahead to a 20-13 lead that Towson couldn't recover from, taking a second straight game and the 2-0 lead heading into game 3.

Facing elimination, the Towson Generals came out of the gate and earned a commanding 6-0 lead, forcing Centennial's first timeout of the match. The Eagles seemed less focused and off their game. They would get it together enough to come within one of the Generals at 15-14, but would lose the game 25-19 after Towson's early lead and refusal to let the Eagles' comeback bid and hopes for a sweep come to fruition.

The Eagles again looked slow early in game 4, but would wake up and overtake Towson at 8-7. The match proceeded back and forth with a fast tempo until a 17-15 Towson lead forced a Centennial timeout. The Eagles again seemed off of their game until a powerful kill by Brown brought them back. The game then saw ties at 21, 22, and 23 before Towson ended the match and tied the Eagles at two games with a 25-23 win.

With the state finals on the line, both teams again traded scores early, with Centennial missing some important serves. The Generals would take a 13-11 lead before the Eagles would score two to tie it, but another missed serve would put Towson in control again before they finished off the match at 15-13. The 3-2 rally by Towson was a tough loss for the Eagles, especially with so many points being given up on their own mistakes.

"You can't miss 23 serves and win," Centennial head coach Larry Schofield said.  "They beat us by two points and we missed 23 serves, and that's mental toughness. They missed a lot of serves too, but you can't miss 23 and win."