Prep Volleyball: Resilient Spalding advances

You can't keep the Archbishop Spalding volleyball team down. At least Bryn Mawr couldn't.

Trailing in their Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference quarterfinal match in every game they won, the Cavaliers overcame deficits of nine points in the third and eight points in the final game to defeat the Mawrtians in five games 18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 19-25, 16-14.

The victory sends third-seeded Spalding (11-5) to the semifinals tomorrow against second-seeded Seton Keough.

"These girls never die. When your back is against the wall, everything counts," Cavaliers coach Scott Rombach said. "That seems to be the pattern of our team this year. We let them get a little bit of a lead and battle back and win."

Bryn Mawr was in total control in the final game, leading, 14-6. After Jaime O'Donnell's serve went long, the ball was in the hands of Nikki Hurley. The junior stayed calm and went on a stunning 10-point run that included two aces, kills by Kristen Seeba and Bri Scholtz (seven kills) and numerous mental lapses by the Mawrtians. The rally from what seemed to be an insurmountable lead netted Archbishop Spalding the victory.

"We were just really trying to pick it up, get fired up and get the crowd involved and turn it around," said Chelsey Toback, who finished 15-for-16 serving with an ace and nine kills. "We got our morale turned around, and our playing fell into place when we did that. We just focused in and tried not to make mistakes. It worked and things went our way."

After being on top by as many as six points in the first game, the Cavaliers found themselves on the opposite side of a comeback when Bryn Mawr tied things at 14. The net play of Susannah Matthai and Ryan deLara, along with the outside hitting of Katrina Schuetz, paced the Mawrtians to a 25-18 victory.

With the second game knotted at 16, Archbishop Spalding's Jamie Rombach served for a pair of points, followed by another pair from Hurley, who finished 24-for-24 serving with three aces and 35 digs. A Seeba kill gave the Cavaliers a 23-19 lead, and Seeba finished things off with another pair of service points.

Bryn Mawr stormed out to a 16-7 lead in the third, only to watch Arcbhishop Spalding creep back. Seeba was at the service line again and ran off eight straight service points, including a pair of aces, to narrow the deficit to 16-15. With the Cavaliers still trailing, 19-18, Toback's three service points, staked the Cavaliers to a 21-19 advantage. Rombach (20 assists, 16 digs and 12 kills) closed the game with three more serves to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead.

The key to the comeback was the net play of Seeba, Scholtz and Toback. Instead of trying to pound their spikes over the net and into the outstretched arms of deLara, Matthai and Kate Walker, the Archbishop Spalding front-liners started to float them over the Mawrtians' defenders into open areas of the court.

"We were trying to cut around the corners and put it where they weren't," said Seeba, who was 26-for-26 serving with two aces, 18 assists, 14 kills and 14 digs.

SOUTH RIVER 3, OLD MILL 0: Patricia Cole had three aces and went 16-for-17 serving to carry the Seahawks 25-23, 25-22, 25-14. Kristin Cooper recorded a game-high seven kills, and Emily Roth added 17 digs and three aces. Haley Jeffries contributed 15 digs, three kills and two aces for South River (11-2).

GLEN BURNIE 3, MEADE 0: Colleen White went 17-for-18 serving with four kills and three blocks as the Gophers (4-8) swept the Mustangs, 25-21, 25-13, 25-16. Jenny Kintaro led Meade (2-11) with two assists, while Jasmine Pope added two aces and went 7-for-8 serving.

SEVERNA PARK 3, ANNAPOLIS 0: Tempe Martens had five kills and five aces to carry the Falcons (13-1) over the Panthers (4-10) in straight games, 25-7, 25-7, 25-16. Sam Henke added 13 aces and five kills.

Candace Greene went 6-for-6 serving with three kills and two blocks for Annapolis (4-10).

BROADNECK 3, CHESAPEAKE 0: Kourtney Salvarola's 11 kills helped the Bruins (12-2) sweep the Cougars, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14. Katie Shorter played a solid match with five kills, three aces and one block. Carlee Rossiter had a team-high 13 assists, plus five aces and two kills.

SOUTHERN 3, NORTH COUNTY 1: Jessica Lee went 11-for-12 serving with eight digs, five assists, three kills and an ace as the Bulldogs won in four sets, 28-26, 25-18, 23-25, 25-10. Shellie Aylor went 11-for-11 serving with six assists and two kills for Southern (10-4). Antionette Bishop went 12-for-14 serving with four aces to pace the Knights (3-10).

MERCY 3, AACS 0: Cassie Scantlin had six kills and added nine digs, but the Eagles (2-14) were eliminated in the IAAM B quarterfinals, 25-12, 25-16, 25-12.

CURLEY 3, AACS BOYS 1: Ryan Hursch's 21 assists weren't enough to overcome a strong Friars team, as the Eagles (4-11) fell in four games, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18. Zac Scantlin had 11 kills.