Barons volleyball wins regional title, advances to state semis

According to B-CC head coach Michelle Clise, staying calm throughout the match has been a problem throughout the season, but it was the key to victory on Friday.

‘‘We finally rose up to the occasion,” she said. ‘‘We kept it together and was able to pull out the victory. That kept our momentum going and there was no looking back for us.”

Urbana (10-7 record) capped its 6-0 run with an ace from senior Michelle Voigt. At that point, the Hawks were confident they could pull out the victory.

‘‘I just felt like we had the world in front of us, we could do anything” said senior Meghan Carpenter.

Urbana head coach Claudia Lapcevich was also encouraged by the team’s start, but she had trouble explaining how things fell apart afterwards.

‘‘I don’t know if it’s the atmosphere or if it was nerves or what,” she said.

Lapcevich said Urbana has played in loud environments all season, and had done well.

‘‘I was very surprised to see them struggle so much in this situation,” she said.

After falling behind early in the first game, B-CC took control after a service ace from senior Wanxin Liu tied the game 10-10. The Barons (14-3) took their first lead at 12-11, but Urbana continued to fight and took a 13-12 lead before B-CC went ahead for good six points later. Eck capped the game with an ace.

The second game also started with six straight points, but it was B-CC who jumped out early. Leading 11-5, Liu served for five straight points, including two consecutive aces.

Liu said the team was motivated to return to the state semifinals.

‘‘I think we had much more energy than we had any other game,” she said. ‘‘It’s my senior year so I really wanted to do it, and I think that motivation kept us up as we played at our level.”

While Clise noted the team’s perseverance as a key to success, B-CC junior Rosie Eck credited her team’s defense.

The Barons notched 22 blocks, resulting in 14 points. Eck led the team with 13 blocks for seven points. She also notched five kills.

‘‘We didn’t let up a lot,” said Eck. ‘‘We had some letups, but we really came back from them and that was one thing that was really important.”

Lapcevich said Urbana didn’t play up to its expectations.

‘‘We weren’t playing our game,” she said. ‘‘We didn’t play the kind of volleyball we’ve been playing all season and it’s a huge upset for us.”

Despite dropping the first two games, Urbana continued to battle and saved its best game of the evening for last. While ultimately losing 25-20, the Hawks battled back from 21-12 to cut the deficit to four.

‘‘We definitely didn’t play like we could,” Carpenter said. ‘‘I just wish there was a chance we could replay them and play them the way we know how we can play. That would just make all the difference.”

Even with the loss, Urbana recognized its successful season.

‘‘It was an amazing season, it was awesome,” said Carpenter. ‘‘We were able to come out in every game and just play awesome, and I’m so proud of all the girls for doing that.”

B-CC advances to the state semifinals where it faces Calvert County’s Huntingtown (16-1), the 3A South Region champs, Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ritchie Coliseum on the campus of the University of Maryland-College Park. It is a rematch of last year’s semifinals, when the Barons lost in three games to the Hurricanes, who went on to lose the 3A final to Centennial.

Having gained experience from that trip to the state semifinals, B-CC is hoping for a better result this year.

‘‘This year I see a different story, as long as we keep our composure,” said Clise.

Eck also has increased expectations.

‘‘The level increases as we go and last year was hard, so we hope to just pick it up a little more,” she said. ‘‘I think we’re a little faster this year, hopefully we can do something better.”