Maryland State Championship Prediction for Class 4 2023
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While Maryland does not have a lot to do with Virginia there are a couple conferences that include both Maryland and Virginia teams. High school tournaments may also include teams from both states. Maryland only runs state championships for the…
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Continue ReadingWhile Maryland does not have a lot to do with Virginia there are a couple conferences that include both Maryland and Virginia teams. High school tournaments may also include teams from both states. Maryland only runs state championships for the public schools. Private schools do not have a separate state championship like Virginia, nor do they combine the two like Washington D.C.. Below is my prediction for Maryland State champion in Class 4.
Class 4
Urbana (Defending champions)
Departures – Logan Burge, Sofia Rodriguez, Claire Thompson, Julia Gustafason
They are losing their top hitter (Thompson), top passer and defender (Gustafason), top blocker (Logan Burge) and their number one setter (Rodriguez). While replacements exist, it may take time to assimilate.
Key Returnees – Charis Burge Charis Burge 5'10" | S Bullis | 2026 State VA , Simone Assasie Simone Assasie 5'9" | MB Urbana | 2026 State VA , Ava Hinnant Ava Hinnant 6'0" | MB Urbana | 2025 State VA , Kaelynn Burge Kaelynn Burge 5'8" | S Urbana | 2024 State VA
Sophomore Charis Burge Charis Burge 5'10" | S Bullis | 2026 State VA ranked as one of their top blockers, hitters and setters. She stands 5’10” with the ability to be a presence at the net. She could share setting duties with her sister Kaelynn Burge Kaelynn Burge 5'8" | S Urbana | 2024 State VA . Another sophomore Simone Assasie Simone Assasie 5'9" | MB Urbana | 2026 State VA ranked second on the team in blocks. She was also an offensive presence in the lineup. The 6’0″ Ava Hinnant Ava Hinnant 6'0" | MB Urbana | 2025 State VA will take over the other middle. A number of players will battle for the pin positions.
Assessment – Too many losses at critical positions will prevent a repeat. At some point six Burge sisters will play volleyball at Urbana. Last year was their first Maryland state championship. As long as a Burge is on the roster the Hawks have a chance to win.
Highlights
Richard Montgomery (my pick as 2023 champions)
Departures – Annika Phase, Alba Saberbein, Cate Christopher
The big loss will be setter Annika Phase. Last year she shared the setting duties with Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA . They do have options for setters listed on their roster.
Key Returnees – Cassandra Bradley Cassandra Bradley 5'6" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2024 State VA , Caroline Kaye Caroline Kaye 6'1" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA , Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA , Corinne Howard Corinne Howard 5'11" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA , Ellie Mitchell
In club Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA hits left side and remains in the back row for offense. For the Rockets she ranked second on the team in assists, so it appears she also has the ability to set. You still want to find another setter to allow her to hit from the right side. The middles will be handled by Caroline Kaye Caroline Kaye 6'1" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA and Corinne Howard Corinne Howard 5'11" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA . Caroline led the team in blocks while Corinne was the team’s second most effective offensive player. Cassandra Bradley Cassandra Bradley 5'6" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2024 State VA returns as the libero. She is also listed as a setter.
Frosh Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'7" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2027 State MD will take the role of Saberbein as the defensive specialist. If they choose to have Cassandra as the second setter Ana could move into the libero position. Jocelyn Yuan Jocelyn Yuan RS Richard Montgomery | 2026 VA has a left handed swing good for the right side. Sophomore Ellie Mitchell gains one more year of experience. Last year she ranked second on the team in kills hitting from the pins.
Assessment – If they can find a second setter the offensive pieces exist to make them dangerous. The Rockets will counter the Burge sisters with the Djordjevic sisters.
Others to contend
Arundel – Last year the Wildcats lost in five to Urbana in the championship match. They have a lot of returning pieces on their roster to make them dangerous. Payton Swinton Payton Swinton 5'10" | RS Arundel | 2024 State VA and Deviana Walker Deviana Walker 5'11" | OH Arundel | 2024 State VA swing from the pins while Abby Finch returns to set, sharing the role with Daisy Pentorn Daisy Pentorn 5'9" | S Arundel | 2025 State VA . They also have Kiara Harmon Kiara Harmon 6'1" | OH Arundel | 2024 State VA to block the middle. Bailey Swinton Bailey Swinton DS/L Arundel | 2026 State VA will handle the libero position. Last year they lost to Urbana in five. They had won the championship in 2019 and 2021, with no championship in 2020 because of CO-vid. The Wildcats bring their own set of sisters to the roster with the Swinton duo.
Highlights
Scrimmages Begin
It was good to get out and see my first high school volleyball match, Riverside versus Patriot. While it was just a scrimmage the play remained intense. Because it is still early in the season rosters are not out for most teams so it becomes a challenge to identify players. Below are some of the players who impressed (and I hope I got them right).
Sydney Bennett Sydney Bennett 6'2" | MB Patriot | 2026 State VA (Patriot) – At 6’1″ the sophomore dominates at the net. Riverside hitters could not avoid her hands when she went up to block. She also puts the ball away consistently when set. Definitely a player who will make a difference on the court.
Danika Swanson Danika Swanson 5'9" | S Patriot | 2027 State VA (Patriot) – With a scrimmage you can do a lot of experimentation. Frosh Danika got her share of setting opportunities for the Patriots. Anisa Flowers Anisa Flowers 5'3" | S Patriot | 2025 State VA will be the main setter and Lauren Katz Lauren Katz 5'11" | S Patriot | 2024 State VA set for them last year, but it appears Danika will be given her opportunities.
Lanie Goff Lanie Goff 5'7" | DS/L Patriot | 2024 State VA (Patriot) – Lanie showed that the libero position will not be a problem for the Pioneers.
Natalie Carlin Natalie Carlin 5'4" | DS/L Riverside | 2024 State VA (Riverside) – Natalie showed a lot of quickness at the libero position.
Sydney Ray Sydney Ray 5'7" | S Riverside | 2026 State VA (Riverside) – The Rams lost both their setters in Ava Ray and Sage Duggal. There will be growing pains but Sydney played an excellent defense at the setter position. She also moved well to the ball and did a good job with her distribution of sets.
Brianna Holladay Brianna Holladay 6'2" | MB Riverside | 2025 State VA (Riverside) – Brianna will be a force in the middle. There were a number of misconnects with the quick sets, but it is still early in the season.
Simone Schaefer Simone Schaefer 5'11" | OH Riverside | 2025 State VA (Riverside) – It appears Simone will hit left side to combine with Adriana Perodin Adriana Perodin 5'9" | OH Riverside | 2024 State VA . Samanatha Ferguson will fill the other middle role. Simone did a good job hitting outside, including putting away some three meter sets from the back row. At this stage of the season many of the back row sets drift quite a bit behind the three meter line.
Riverside won the first and third. Patriot snagged the second. I was gone by the time they played the fourth game.