“It was just a matter of locking back in,” junior Corinne Howard said.
More specifically, in its final set, Richard Montgomery always seemed to know where the ball was going and what it wanted to do with it. When it needed a block, Howard appeared; if it needed a pristine pass or a left-handed kill, it went to junior Ema Djordjevic; if it needed a thrashing shot, it went to sophomore Ellie Mitchell. The Rockets took 15 of the final 20 points to capture the first state title in program history.
That success was a byproduct of their veterans, with senior Casey Bradley and Djordjevic leading the way. Setting the example was the only way Djordjevic knew how to lead; she began playing when she was 10 and has idolized and incessantly watched the Serbian national team ever since.
“Those two pass that knowledge down to the rest of us,” Howard said.
“We all see things a little differently, and we make sure to relay that to each other,” Bradley said.
Leonardtown (17-2) arrived in this matchup following many of the same tenets as Richard Montgomery (22-3): It was tenacious on defense, read the floor well and played at a fearless, breakneck pace. But the Rockets began Saturday in control, with a 10-3 lead aiding a 25-20 first-set win. Though they had a more tepid start to the next set, falling behind by six points early, Mitchell and Howard overpowered the Raiders to crawl back from a 9-6 hole and break a 16-16 tie.
The Raiders tested the Rockets in the third set, and junior Gracie Zartman came up with a slew of kills with the pressure on. But in the final frame, the Rockets pushed the ball back toward Mitchell and Howard, inducing a cheery and teary dog pile by the net.
“This was just the best day ever,” Djordjevic said. “Locking eyes with everyone on the court, that just made the tears start falling. There was so much love all around.”