Broadneck Senior High School | Archive | November, 2008

***Click here for video highlights and interviews***

By James A. McCray III
Prince George’s County, Content Manager

College Park — It is only right to protect what is yours, or at least have the opportunity to.

The Broadneck Bruins volleyball team gave itself the opportunity to defend its 2007 4A state title after defeating the Eleanor Roosevelt Raiders 25-15, 25-8, 25-16 Thursday night at the University of Maryland’s Ritchie Coliseum. Broadneck (16-1) will now seek back-to-back state titles Monday night against Thomas Johnson in the 4A state title game.

“Coming back defending our title means a lot,” Broadneck middle hitter Caroline Jacobs said. “We have a new coach [Scott Graf], and we lost some key players that were starters, so just being back here shows that we have a solid team.”

As Jacobs led all hitters with a game-high 11 kills on the night, teammate Shelby Greene passed out 36 assists. Of her team’s 41 kills, 36 were set by Greene.

“The game was good,” Greene said. “I think we started out really strong at first and then we just pushed hard. We played as a team really.”

In his first year as head coach at Broadneck, Graf has coached the team back to the state championship game and hopes to keep the championship at Broadneck. And even though he was pleased with his team’s performance on the court, Graf was just as satisfied with his girls on another note.

“The ladies have done an excellent job, especially here,” Graf said referring to the post-game press conference. “I am most impressed with the answers they have given here. What that tells me is that they are actually listening to what I have been preaching all year. Play hard, play together, play smart, and keep the positive energy.”

Eleanor Roosevelt came into the state semifinals with a 17-0 record after winning the 4A South regional title. And despite the loss Thursday night, head coach Eileen Lloyd was happy about her team’s performance.

“I was just telling them how proud I was of them,” Lloyd said in moments following the game. ” … I am sad we lost, certainly, but they made some great plays. We knew [Broadneck] was a good team. They are tall and athletic, and have been playing together for years and years.”

“The first game was kind of a shock,” Roosevelt’s Funmi Akinyode said. “I feel like we had it in the second game, but we just didn’t complete it. And then, in the third game, we really had them going, we made a few mistakes and it ended up biting us in the end.”

And although the Raiders joked that they wanted a redo of the game, their respective season ends with a 17-1 record.

The Bruins will now face Governor Thomas Johnson High School in the 4A state title game scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m.

“I did watch a bunch of their game, they do a lot of the same things [we do], and they are a very solid ball club,” Graf said of Thomas Johnson. “They continue to run the fundamentals and execute the fundamentals well. We are going to have to work extra hard because we know over 75 percent of the time; the ball is going to come back.”

tmccray@digitalsports.com


Broadneck 3, Roosevelt 0

Broadneck    —    25   25   25
Roosevelt     —    15   8    16

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