Chancellor's Hot Start Hardly Comes as a Surprise to Coach

Forgive Chancellor volleyball coach Rod Crooks if he's not surprised by the Chargers' impressive start this season, which includes the highest finish of any area team at last month's talent-laden Ukrops Showcase Tournament in Richmond.

Crooks was the one who two years ago cooked up the plan to groom No. 4 Chancellor particularly for this season. Last year, the outline was to have the young Chargers gain confidence and experience, something accomplished by the team's trip to the Virginia AA quarterfinals.

With four starters and three contributors back this season, the Chargers expect to make a serious push for the state title. Already with victories over AAA Northwest Region favorites Colonial Forge and Forest Park, and a win against AAA Northern Region front-runner Chantilly, the Chargers (5-2) appear headed that way.

"This was a two-year project of mine," Crooks said. "I knew that last year's team I wanted to get a certain distance, and this year I wanted to be even better. I knew this was going to happen. This project was all planned out knowing that this was going to be the better team. Here we are. This is the group. This is the year."

Chancellor's only losses came at the Ukrops tournament against two-time defending AAA champion Deep Run and to Princess Anne, the top-ranked team in the Virginia Beach area. The Chargers are aiming for their first state title -- they've made the final twice, losing both times -- behind outside hitter Kelli Carneal and setter Seth Sullivan, two of the top players in the Washington area.

Broadneck's Transition

Defending Maryland 4A champion Broadneck received a last-minute surprise this summer when longtime coach Romonzo Beans announced he was leaving the Bruins to head the program at Coppin Sate. Over Beans's 10-year tenure, Broadneck amassed a 158-36 record that included four state titles (2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007) and an unprecedented eight consecutive region championships.

Beans's former assistant at Anne Arundel Community College, Scott Graf, has taken the helm of the Bruins, who will depend on hitters Kourtney Salvarola and Caroline Jacobs to help them rebound this season after graduating a strong group of five seniors. Broadneck opens its season on Tuesday against Severna Park.

"I accomplished a lot at Broadneck," Beans said. "Probably more than I ever thought I would be able to do. It was hard to leave. I started with a lot of those girls when they were 9 years old. . . . Having Scott come in and taking my place makes it a little bit easier to leave."

Maret Faces Adversity

Maret was the only school to push No. 1 Good Counsel (3-0) into a corner during its 2007 campaign when, during the City Championship, the Frogs ran out to a two-game lead before the Falcons regained their composure and rallied for a five-game victory and the school's first city title.

Good Counsel visits Maret at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, but this won't be the rematch the Frogs had hoped for. Senior setter Carolyn Bottelier has mononucleosis and will be out at least three weeks, and outside hitter Elora Matonovic, an exchange student from Croatia and one of Maret's key offensive threats, has a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus that ended her season.

"In 20 years I've never had a starter go down and miss more than one game," Frogs Coach Liz Hall said. "I kind of got it all coming at me at once now. We'll scrap away, but we're just having trouble ending points and that's how you dominate."