NEWS
By Glenn Graham | November 13, 2009
The late-blooming and stellar volleyball career of John Carroll grad Andrew Cranford began with a watchful eye and a positive push. A three-sport athlete who grew up taking turns among soccer, basketball and lacrosse, Cranford was unexpectedly cut from the soccer team in 2002, his sophomore year. It opened the door for volleyball, a sport he had never played until he stepped onto the court in his junior year. Cranford, a 6-foot-5 middle hitter, went on to enjoy a stellar four-year career at Stevens Institute of Technology before getting a taste of professional volleyball in Germany, from which he recently returned after a month with a team in Rottenburg.
NEWS
By Mike Frainie | October 16, 2009
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.
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | July 21, 2009
A group of Maryland teen volleyball players was released Monday from a quarantined Beijing hotel, where they had been held after taking the same flight as a person who later developed illness from the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. Tarver Shimek, 16, a rising senior at Towson High School, said she was glad to be able to finish a trip with fellow travelers from the Maryland Junior Volleyball Club. As Chinese authorities assessed her health risks, she spent more than three days in the hotel, she said, making up games like "hotel tag" with other teenagers.
NEWS
By Rich Scherr | November 30, 2008
Caroline Jacobs is no stranger to success. Recently, the Broadneck senior rang up 12 kills, four aces and three blocks against Thomas Johnson, helping lead her team to its second straight Class 4A state volleyball title. But her triumphs off the court are perhaps even more impressive. She holds a 3.92 grade point average, volunteers at a center that helps cancer patients and learned last week that she has been accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. I know your family has been hosting midshipmen for quite a few years.
NEWS
By Rich Scherr | November 20, 2008
First-year Pikesville football coach Jamie Willis came into this season with admittedly modest goals after taking over a team that won just two games a year ago. "When I took the job, I told the kids in our first meeting that we're going to work hard and get what we deserve," Willis said. Never did he imagine his Panthers would earn a spot in the regional final. That's where they are, however, as they will host Catoctin tomorrow in the 2A North final. The Panthers (7-4) already have left their mark, winning their first postseason game ever, 22-18 over New Town last week.
NEWS
By Mike Frainie | November 15, 2008
COLLEGE PARK - Liberty's Amanda McCracken gets teased by her teammates because she doesn't show much emotion on the volleyball court. "I love volleyball, but I've never been real loud," said the senior. "I just want to go out and do well, and then do it again. Even McCracken, however, couldn't miss the significance of No. 10 Liberty's 25-17, 25-21, 21-15 victory over Rising Sun in the Class 2A state championship yesterday at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. The Tigers (12-7)
NEWS
By Katherine Dunn | November 13, 2008
At one point during summer 2007, the volume of mail arriving at Bailey Webster's Towson home so overwhelmed the postal carrier that she knocked on the door asking to meet the person getting so much mail. When the door opened, she met the No. 1 volleyball prospect in the nation, a 6-foot-3 powerhouse of a hitter for St. Paul's. More than 200 coaches initially recruited her, inundating her with letters and media guides. "At one point, we were getting 25 to 30 pieces of mail just for her a day, and that doesn't include e-mail," said her mother, Cedrina Webster.
NEWS
By Rich Scherr | November 2, 2008
Baseball had been James Hennessy's top sport until the C. Milton Wright senior found his niche in volleyball. Now, the 6-foot-1 outside hitter is considered one of the top all-around players in Harford County, recently leading the Mustangs to a 15-0 regular season. In a recent interview, Hennessy talked about his passion for volleyball, which is largely unheralded as a boys sport throughout the rest of the state, as well as his plans for the future and his summer volunteering at a camp in Colorado.
NEWS
By Katherine Dunn | October 31, 2008
St. Paul's Bailey Webster wanted to go to a college with a big-time sports program. As the nation's No. 1 volleyball recruit, she had her pick of most of them. Yesterday, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter said she had chosen Texas. "When I went there, I felt like I fit in," Webster, 17, said. "I loved the girls and I loved the teams. I wanted to go to a big school that was good in sports. They're top five in volleyball, No. 1 in football and top five in basketball, so you can't do much better than that.
NEWS
By Sandra McKee | October 30, 2008
Reservoir and Howard joined together last week to help raise money for the Side-Out Foundation, which works to raise awareness of breast cancer through volleyball activities. Reservoir coach Carole Ferrante, whose team organized the event, said the Gators set a goal of $2,000 and by the end of the night had surpassed that mark. "We don't know exactly how much we've raised," Ferrante said. "It was over $2,000 at the school, but people can also give online, and that fund drive is still going on. So we're raising our goal to $3,000."