Loudoun County Holds Serve
Broad Run Offers Quite a Stern Test

By Paul Tenorio
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Before Monday night's volleyball match between top-ranked Loudoun County and Broad Run, players traded text messages counting down the minutes until the opening serve.

Several of the girls face one another on club teams, but they also understood the significance of the match because the teams entered undefeated.

There was strong play from the stars on both sides of the net, including the serves of Broad Run's Lauren Sears and the offensive play of Loudoun County's Morgan Petkovich and Marguerite Hanna. In the end, Loudoun County won in four games, 25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 25-16.

The Raiders (8-0, 4-0 Dulles District) were led by Villanova-bound Petkovich, who had 13 kills, 15 service points and 14 digs, and Hanna, who added nine kills, nine digs and six service points.

"We knew it was going to be a tough match," Loudoun County Coach Jenica Matthias said. "I thought that we played awesome defense with our blocking and our digs. That was a weakness we were trying to push through, and I was real excited with the girls tonight."

After the Raiders jumped to a 1-0 lead behind the play of Hanna and Petkovich, Broad Run (8-1, 3-1) came out for the second game with such energy that Loudoun County was overwhelmed. Senior Brooke Bauernfeind led the way for Broad Run, scoring several times with a powerful outside hit for which the opponents had no answer.

"She has one of the most powerful hits, I think, in the county," Broad Run Coach Susan Dezzutti said. "She's a smart player. She knows when to go line, she knows when to go cross court, she knows when to drop those balls for the little roll shots, and she did. She's a go-to girl. If you need a quick point, you go to Brooke, and she'll give it to you."

With the score tied at 1, the third set was the most intense. Loudoun County stormed to an eight-point lead until Sears stepped back to serve.

The junior's jump serve was nearly unstoppable, and the Spartans charged back with eight straight points to tie the set.

"Count it for Lauren Sears," Dezzutti said. "She has got one of the best jump serves, I think, by far in the county, state, you name it. We rely a lot on her serving, and she has done a fantastic job for us up to this point and did a fantastic job in this game and brought us back in that third match."

The Raiders caught new life after a Sears serve landed slightly out of bounds. From that point on, Loudoun County took control of the match.

"I think pulling out that third game helped us get all of our momentum to push through and win," Matthias said. "Lauren's jump serve was hurting us at the moment, and luck drew it out of bounds, and we were able to get ourselves together and push through to win the third game."

For the Raiders, who faced softer opponents early in the season, pulling out a tough win against a district opponent was important.

"I think it gives us more confidence to play every team," Petkovich said.

Loudoun County junior Katie Martin had 16 assists, and junior Kerry Sarver added 15 assists. Broad Run junior Kristen Burt registered 37 assists.

Entering the match, Loudoun County had lost one game this season and Broad Run had dropped two.