Bruins Settle For Second In Volleyball State Final

All season, the Broadneck volleyball team sported T-shirts with a line from the movie “Rocky V” — “I didn’t hear no bell.”

The mantra and ethos behind the quote served them well all season, getting to the Class 4A state final on November 16.

Once there, however, the bell finally tolled for the Bruins. Richard Montgomery, undefeated and the defending state title winner returning three key players, simply had too much firepower as the Rockets repeated as champs with a 25-19, 25-9, 25-17 victory at Harford Community College in Bel Air.

“We knew what they could do and what they had coming back. They were the better team,” said Broadneck coach Tracey Regalbuto. “We knew that we were going to have to play amazing to have a chance, and we didn’t.”

Montgomery had plenty to do with that, with four quality attackers, including both Rockets setters. But the Bruins committed an uncharacteristic number of errors as well, particularly in the first set.

The Bruins manufactured some momentum at the end of the first set on a five-point run behind the serving of sophomore Marley Evans, but that head of steam was squelched early in the second.

Broadneck’s normal attack duo of Kennedy Smith and Anna Graves both logged kills when the opportunity presented, but Montgomery’s attacking power kept the Bruins defense under pressure and limited their quality attacking opportunities in response.

Still, with a final record of 17-4, county and regional championships, a state championship match appearance, and a great deal of experience for a junior-heavy roster, the Bruins exited the stage as upbeat as could be expected for coming so close to winning it all.

“You’re playing for a state championship, and only one team gets to finish with a smile on their face,” Regalbuto said. “A state championship is always the goal, but we really wanted to just go as far as we could this season because we know what we have, but we also know what we have coming back.”

That firepower helped lead Broadneck to a banner season, despite the loss. The Bruins won the county championship for the first time in five years, and their sights were truly set on getting past Leonardtown and moving on to the state playoffs, which they did by beating the Raiders in straight sets on their home floor. Anything past that was a bonus to a younger but experienced team.

And they did that with aplomb: they went 17-4 and finished the season by winning 13 of 15 matches, including five in a row heading into the title game. In those 17 victories, the Bruins won 51 of 52 sets — the only one they lost was against Arundel in the county championship. They beat Crofton in straight sets in the state quarterfinals and similarly dispatched Perry Hall in the semis.

“We really knew how we could play. We knew that coming into this game we had to leave it all out there on the court because we were only one step away,” Graves said after the win over Perry Hall. “It feels amazing knowing that we’ve made it this far. We’ve done everything we can at this point, and now just knowing that we are where we are now, we just have to play our best and leave it all on the court. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and grown together.”

Having got to the finals on the back of a talented junior class, Broadneck will hope to reload and make another run in 2025. But the sophomores and juniors “wanted it like they were seniors,” this season, Regalbuto said, in part for themselves but also in part for those who will leave the program.

The Bruins say goodbye to three seniors, each of whom contributed in less-heralded ways to the team’s success: middle blockers Addison Sladky and Amanda Protzman, who provided defensive presence in the middle and occupied blocks to make life easier for Graves and Smith on the pins, and defensive/serving specialist Julia Rubino.