APGFCU Arena on the campus of Harford Community College hosted the 2022 MPSSAA Volleyball State Championships on November 16 & 17. The venue is cozy and personal, which makes it perfect to host the high school state finals. What comes with cozy and personal though, makes for deafening crowd noise, especially when your team brings a raucous student section combined with the already present family and school supporters.
A storyline to match the excitement is that two of the eight teams, Middletown and Urbana, had never won a state championship, with Middletown just competing in the state tournament for the first time. They went up against a Liberty team, who dominated the first set, dropped the second set and then regained their composure to sweep the next two, squashing Middletown's hopes for their first title.
In the tournament's only five-setter, Urbana faced two-time defending champion, Arundel, and was able to grab the first two sets by close margins. Then, Arundel's deep experience took over, looking like pros and breezing through the next two sets to even the match. When it came down to the last set, both teams came out with fire in their eyes. Back and forth it went, but it was Urbana who found that little extra something inside themselves to come out on top and claim their first championship trophy.
State Finals Results
Class 1A - No. 1 Clear Spring vs. No. 6 South Carroll
Clear Spring won 3 - 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-16)
Class 2A - No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 8 Middletown
Liberty won 3 - 1 (25-13, 19-25, 25-15, 25-19)
Class 3A - No. 3 North Hagerstown vs. No. 5 Northern-Cal
North Hagerstown won 3 - 1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15)
Class 4A - No. 1 Arundel vs. No. 3 Urbana
Urbana won 3 - 2 (25-22, 25-22, 12-25, 9-25, 15-11)
LESLEY COOKE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: LIBERTY LIONS