Broadneck Repeats As County Volleyball Champs

Even with all Broadneck’s firepower clicking, the usual suspects weren’t enough to put away Arundel in the 2025 county volleyball championships on October 18.

Instead, it was a freshman libero who proved to be the decisive force.

Alexis Luscomb served three straight aces in the fifth set, swinging a narrow lead into a four-point margin Broadneck would see to the finish. The five-set victory allowed the Bruins to retain the county championship against the revenge-minded Wildcats.

Luscomb, who also had 18 digs in the match, toyed with Arundel’s defense by sending a short dipping serve, followed by a long one that just clipped the back line. A third successive ace left the Wildcats baffled and facing a deficit they couldn’t rescue.

“I was trying to yo-yo them, serve short to trick them and then serve deep to make them really think about it,” said Luscomb, a setter by trade and the third one on Broadneck’s depth chart. “It just makes me happy that I can contribute in different aspects of the game beyond setting, with my defense and serve receive. I don’t get to do those things a lot.”

Kennedy Smith led Broadneck with 21 kills, while Anna Graves had eight kills and 20 digs, and Camryn Bedell had a 10-kill, 10-dig double-double.

Broadneck won the first two sets and looked poised to run away in the third set, but a small lead went by the wayside and Arundel roared back to take the next two sets and level the match.

Despite Arundel having all the momentum, Broadneck remained unfazed and simply wrested it back when the chips were down.

“After set four, in our huddle, I told the team that they think they have all the momentum because they won the last two, but that doesn’t mean anything. We know we can shift it and what our potential is,” Graves said. “We came out extremely strong with our cheering and mentality. We flipped the switch right away.”

The Bruins have lost just three times this season: to Annapolis Area Christian, to Musselman (West Virginia), and in the last week of the regular season to Howard.

That will keep them at home for the first round of the regional playoffs against Annapolis, but road dates with Bowie and potentially Leonardtown beckon should the Bruins advance that far.

Nevertheless, the Bruins remain locked in on the next match, knowing going 1-0 in each remaining test will get them back to their goal.

“We are just seeing the mistakes we can improve on. Every game is a lesson, and there are things we need to learn from them,” said senior setter Sydney Lawrence. “We fix those, and we’ll be ready.”