On Monday, October 30, the Bobcats Boys’ Volleyball team fought to the bitter end, earning a comeback win and a championship for the fourth year in a row.
After defeating 2 teams to reach the championship game, the boys marked their spot at the neutral site of Aberdeen High School to play the winner of the other side of the bracket. That team? The Harford Tech Cobras, a team the Bobcats had beaten 3-1 on their home ground.
After a weekend of anticipation and preparation, the boys were ready to take home their third straight championship in Harford County. However, the Cobras proved to be a tough matchup.
The first set ended with the Cobras winning 25-20, a blow to the Bobcats. For the 2nd set, the boys were able to get slightly ahead with a 21-19 lead. The Cobras, however, persevered and finished the set strong, winning 25-23. The Bobcats were now down 2-0 and needed only one more lost set to go home empty handed.
An energy shift was felt by the entire gymnasium midway through the 3rd set, and the Bobcats began their surge, winning the 3rd set 25-20. Although the outcome still looked bleak, there was a chance the boys could rally some points and even it up at 2 sets a piece.
Utter domination in the 4th set led to a 25-14 Bobcat victory, taking the game to a 5th set, a 15-point sudden death. As the crowd rallied around players like Seniors Will Harbaugh, Christian Couch, and Tom Silver, it was clear the energy and momentum were for the Bobcats.
After going down 2-0 after the first 2 sets, it looked like it was all but over for Bel Air. Then, with a beautiful dump from Senior Tom Silver, the Bobcats won 15-10, completing the incredible reverse sweep and ultimately the three-peat.
Filaretos Tsomos, head coach of the Bobcat Volleyball team, feels the win was “the perfect ending and summary for a very talented team which knows how to win.” Tsomos feels the flip in energy was due to several factors, including “conditioning at the two-hour threshold, when games go to the 5th set and other team’ effectiveness plummets under exhaustion.” As the season wraps up, Tsomos feels the 21 regular season and tournament titles over the last 29 years “speak for themselves.”
“We were undefeated [throughout the season]…it was my favorite year throughout all of my years here,” said senior Christian Couch, outside hitter. Couch has committed to Penn State for next fall, 2024.
Watching the Bobcats continue to fight and never give up was an unbelievable sight, as they rallied behind the crowd gaining energy throughout. For their last game, the seniors dug deep and clinched the final win of their high school career. Go Cats!