Thirteen proves to be lucky for Centennial

Centennial, a powerhouse from Howard County with more state titles than any other Maryland high school, dropped the first game of the Class 3A championship match to Calvert County’s Huntingtown, 24-26, but quickly grabbed the next three, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21, to finish 17-1 and win its third straight state crown.

“It never gets to be old hat,” Centennial coach Jerry Hulla said. “It’s different every year. This is my first year as head coach. It’s a different team, and they haven’t experienced this together before.”

One of the biggest things to set this Centennial team apart from other recent ones was the play of left-handed junior hitter Liana Farb. Last year, she mostly sat the bench, but on Saturday, she was a force on the court, registering nine kills and the highest hitting percentage of either team, at .333.

“Being able to start this year was an exciting change,” Farb said. “Today, I was working on keeping my errors down.”

The Hurricanes’ senior outside hitters, Andrea Miller and Jessica Gaetano, each tallied 14 kills, but it wasn’t enough to help them take the lead. Huntingtown, which suffered its first loss, finished 18-1.

“We never got into a rhythm,” Huntingtown coach Cheryl Lord said. “But I don’t want a game like this to overshadow the fact that we have had great successes for a team that has only been around for three years.”

Another new team, Reservoir of Howard County, lost in the 2A championship Saturday to North East (Cecil County). Only in its fourth season, Reservoir (19-2) won the first two games, 25-22, 25-22, but dropped the last three, 16-25, 18-25, 8-15. North East, which won its sixth state title overall and first since 1996, finished at 18-2.

“I think my girls just expected [to win] because we have beaten everybody,” Reservoir coach Carol Ferrante said. “We just broke down.”