Georgetown Day Wins Fourth Consecutive DC Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the third consecutive season Georgetown Day swept their way to the DC state championship. That is 27-0 in sets won over the last three years. After receiving a bye they swept past Banneker, then did the same with Jackson Reed. In the championship match they faced Georgetown Visitation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Georgetown Visitation it was their first appearance in the finals. They had to beat a strong National Cathedral team to advance to the finals. During the regular season they had swept past National Cathedral. This match proved more challenging with Cathedral taking the second set 25-22 and Visitation pulling out the fourth set 25-23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='412055' first='Lilly' last='Kennedy']</strong> fell three kills shy of a triple double with 7 kills, 13 assists and 17 digs. Her younger sister, frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='892024' first='Claire' last='Kennedy']</strong> scraped up 20 digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams']</strong> led Cathedral with 13 kills, 5 blocks and 9 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Georgetown Visitation this has been one of their most successful years in school history. Other than an early round elimination in the ISL playoffs, their second place in the ISL and second place finish in the State tournament is the best they have accomplished as a school. If you go all the way back to 2013 Visitation has failed to get past the quarterfinals in the DC state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":732507,"width":"670px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/12/Gabi-Donley4.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-732507" style="width:670px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gabi Donley</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473872' first='Jocelyn' last='Gill']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='530366' first='Gabriela' last='Donley']</strong> are the top offensive pieces to this team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='374420' first='Sadie' last='Fester']</strong> is the lubricant that makes this offense work. Unfortunately, she will be graduating after this season so finding a new setter is imperative. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='767052' first='Ellie' last='Calpin']</strong> is a sophomore libero. Surpassing Georgetown Day next year may still be out of the picture but a second place finish in the ISL shows that progress has been made.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the finals Georgetown Day swept Visitation, as they did the one time they played them during the regular season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437985' first='Zora' last='Dimbo']</strong> led the team with 13 kills earning her the spot of MVP for the tournament. <strong>Tessa Ferguson</strong> (7) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='355124' first='Fiona' last='McDermott']</strong> (8) combined for 15 kills. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> served up five aces and dished out her usually consistent 36 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Johns did not play in the tournament. The objective analysis they use for giving points when playing against winning teams failed them. Don't know how they can be considered the 13th best team in D,C.. Only the top 12 teams make the playoffs. Either St. Johns has to tweak their scheduling or the District of Colombia State Athletic Association has to tweak their formulae. St. Johns may not be a top 25 team in the area but they should fall in top 50. And there are not 12 D.C. teams that fall in the top 50 in the DMV area,</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprises in the MPSSAA Playoffs</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Maryland schools have whittled down to the final four in the state tournament. There were a couple surprises.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big surprise was Churchill taking down two time defending champion Richard Montgomery in five. The Bulldogs needed to win the last two sets to advance to the final four, taking the third set 25-18 then dominating the fifth set 15-5. Frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='762829' first='Angela' last='Zhang']</strong> made her presence felt with 14 kills but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438053' first='Lucille' last='Deraleau']</strong> led the way with 17 kills. The two combined for 80 attempts. Older sister [player_tooltip player_id='346818' first='Charlotte' last='Deraleau'] fed the hitters with 36 assists. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell']</strong> led the Rockets with 29 kills as well as 21 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They will play Broadneck next who swept past Severn Run, not allowing more than 17 points in any of the three sets. They are ranked number 21 in our top 25. Richard Montgomery ranked at 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blair advances after losing the first set to Dunlaney 25-15. They recovered from that first set loss to win the next three sets. Blair received 11 kills from the 6'4" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='849619' first='Kiya' last='Boggan']</strong> as well as 6 blocks. Frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='903758' first='Felicia' last='He']</strong> served up 8 aces as well as recorded three blocks. Blair will play Urbana who swept past Flowers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":520711,"width":"261px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/142-Dylann-Loggins-rotated.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-520711" style="width:261px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was at the Howard match to watch them sweep over a strong Chesapeake team. Despite <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins']</strong> not suiting up Howard was able to get significant contribution from sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='829552' first='Anna' last='Fiedler']</strong> with her 18 kills. This sophomore hits the ball hard and appears to have more growth in her already 5'11" frame. Her down the line kills come at the setters with tremendous velocity. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='698761' first='Imagine' last='Peltier']</strong> recorded 33 assists with her usual precise setting but also contributed three blocks and five aces. This team brings a lot of offensive pieces to the court, especially when Dylann is in the lineup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They will play a strong Arundel team who upset Wootten in four. Last year Wootten upset Howard to earn a spot in the finals where they eventually lost to North Hagerstown. Arundel relies on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='525343' first='Terry' last='Spring']</strong> for offense on the left side and the back row play of libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='434861' first='Bailey' last='Swinton']</strong>. Setter <strong>Lexi Sahai</strong> was voted athlete of the month for October.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Hagerstown swept past Edgewood, restricting them to a maximum of 14 points in the second set. [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] recorded her usual 25 kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hubs will face Reservoir, who swept past Northern. Reservoir has already played Howard and been swept by them. To get to Howard they must beat the three time defending champ.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":516560,"width":"325px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/Isard-Bernades4.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-516560" style="width:325px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='346815' first='Isard' last='Bernades']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glenelg won a tough five setter against Kent Island. The Gladiators needed to win the last two matches 25-19, 15-10 to advance to the final four. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346816' first='Avery' last='Hubbard']</strong> with her 27 kills and 17 digs was key to their advance to the semi-finals. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='346815' first='Isard' last='Bernades'] </strong>also contributed 20 kills. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] </strong>had one of those days with 52 assists, 17 digs, 9 aces and 9 kills. She was just one ace shy and one kill away from achieving a rare quadruple double.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glenelg will play a strong Calvert team which swept past Hereford. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='888589' first='Raegan' last='Oursler'] </strong>is the player to stop if you want to beat Calvert.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williamsport swept past Douglas in the other Elite eight matchups. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309027' first='Skylar' last='Norris'] </strong>led the team in kills with nine, but <strong>Elliania Schwartz</strong> banged out seven. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='800474' first='Leigha' last='Harsh'] </strong>led the team in digs with 11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They will play Bel Air who swept past Eastern Tech.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 1A final four South Carroll will play Clear Spring. In the other final four matchup Patterson Mill will face Chesapeake Math North. Chesapeake Math was led by the frosh duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902360' first='A'vielle' last='Lewis']</strong> (7) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='903827' first='Moraie' last='Butler']</strong> (6) who combined for 13 kills in their sweep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->