October 16, 2009|By Mike Frainie | Mike Frainie,Special to The Baltimore Sun
Covenant Community School's Lillie Happel and Mount de Sales' Katy Buck have been best friends since they were 10 years old. They grew up playing volleyball together, and it has earned both of them college scholarships. On Thursday night, however the battle lines were drawn. Chalk one up for Buck and Mount de Sales.
Buck recorded 11 kills, five digs and five aces as her top-ranked Sailors (13-0) defeated the No. 10 Bravehearts, 25-14, 25-12, 25-23, in a key game for both teams. Happel had 11 kills, one block and one ace.
"We joked about trash-talking through the net," said Happel, who will play volleyball at Liberty University next year. "We were both determined to win this match, and we fought very hard. We just ended up on the wrong end of the score."
Said Buck, who will attend Towson on a volleyball scholarship next year: "We feed off each other. We respect each other, and we make each other better."
Covenant, a team made up of home-schooled athletes, entered the match undefeated. The Bravehearts (10-1) showed why early in the first game, taking a 12-10 lead. Then the Sailors, behind 10 straight service points by Jodi Schneider, took a 20-12 advantage. Buck scored the final two points on aces to give Mount de Sales a 25-14 win and a 1-0 lead in games.
The second game was all Mount de Sales. The Sailors used five kills and two aces to roll, 25-12. Alex Gracia paced the Sailors with three kills in that game.
"We kind of fell apart in that second game," Covenant coach Ian Beam said. "I couldn't wait for that game to be over."
The Bravehearts battled throughout the third game, but it was not enough. With the score tied at 22, the Sailors got a block by Hannah Schmidt to take the lead. After a kill by Happel evened the score at 23, Mount de Sales used a kill by Buck and an ace by Schmidt to close out the match.
Asked about her friend's performance, Buck was honest but complimentary.
"I think Lillie had an off game tonight," Buck said. "I can tell you that if we have to play them again [in the Maryland Private School Tournament next month], that it won't happen again."
