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Magruder girls volleyball coach Scott Zanni has been down this road before.

For the past two seasons, the Colonels have claimed the top spot in the Class 4A West Region playoffs, only to suffer disappointing losses in the semifinals. Thus, Zanni is proud of his team's perfect 6-0 record at Saturday's Magruder Invitational, and its third consecutive tournament title, but knows there is a lot of work left to be done.

"It is a good start to the year," said Zanni. "But it's still Sept. 13 and there are two months in the season left. We've got a lot of seniors that have been through this before."

After defeating Urbana in the semifinals, Magruder sealed its tournament victory with a 25-15, 25-8 victory over 2006 and '07 3A state semifinalist Bethesda-Chevy Chase (5-1 at the tournament), which overcame Paint Branch to reach the finals. The Colonels did not drop a single game all day.

"To beat [B-CC] the way we did I think is a bit of a statement," said Zanni. "You don't want this to be the only thing you do all year. If this is the peak of the season then why play the rest of the year? We've got our sights set on other things as well."

The first game of the championship match started as a back-and-forth affair. With B-CC only trailing 7-6, 5-foot-8 Magruder sophomore Molly Hirrlinger hit a nice kill shot to spark a 7-0 Colonel run.

The Barons would not get any closer, as Magruder junior outside hitter Michelle Fowle contributed three kills and superb serving during the match.

"We are all really close like a family basically and know everything about each other," said Fowle, who was named to the Magruder Invitational all-tournament team. "I am pretty sure we can play with any team in the county if we play our hardest all the time."

Fowle and the rest of the Colonel hitters would not have been as successful if not for senior setter Alison Musser.

"Michelle's dad has a saying," said Musser, also an all-tournament team selection, "that I make Michelle look good and she makes me look good. We all definitely all help each other."

In game two, Musser shut the door on any thought of a comeback by B-CC with a block and six impressive serves to give the Colonels a 7-0 lead they would not relinquish. The Barons struggled offensively with errant passes and unforced errors.

"[Inconsistency] definitely showed at the end," said B-CC coach Michelle Clise, who is in her fifth year on the bench. "Without an offense you can't compete. When you give good teams free points it makes it difficult to win."

Senior libero Andrea Fort, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, clinched the victory for the Colonels with three aces of the last five points of the match.

Clise said she was pleased with the day's results, but wished the two teams had played at full strength.

"After 13 hours of playing volleyball, I'd like to see [the players] a little more fresh," said Clise. "I think they were tired and we were tired. I just didn't think it was our best volleyball, but it ended the right way for us."

If Fowle, Musser, Fort and the rest of the Colonel girls stay focused and improve on the defensive side of the net, it may be a distinguished year for the Rockville school.

"There is something special about [this team] I've seen so far," said Zanni. "If we can stay that way I think we are going to have a dynamite year."