COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Senior Alex Holston had a tournament-record 42 kills to lead the Sherwood High School girls volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-13, 25-21, 18-25, 25-12) victory over Walter Johnson in the semifinal round of the MPSSAA Class 4A State Championship playoffs at the Ritchie Coliseum on Thursday.
Holston set the tone early in the first set, getting kills on two of the first five points of the match as the Warriors took a 6-0 lead before the Wildcats called a timeout to regroup. Walter Johnson won the next two points before falling behind by as many as 15 on its way to losing the set by 12.
The Wildcats were much more competitive in a second set that featured eight ties and three lead changes before Sherwood ultimately prevailed, 25-21. Walter Johnson took the third set, 25-18, and seemed poised to give the two-time defending state champions one of their toughest tests of the season.
The Warriors returned to form early in the fourth set, though, winning eight consecutive points on Maddie Moyer’s serve to take an 11-2 lead on their way to a 25-12 victory and a third straight trip to the state final.
The Wildcats (16-2) lost for just the second time this season, with both defeats coming to Sherwood. In the regular-season finale for both teams, the visiting Warriors beat Walter Johnson in four sets on October 25.
Sherwood (18-0) will face Arundel in a rematch of last year’s final in the championship game on Monday. Arundel topped Eleanor Roosevelt 3-0 in the other semifinal match played Thursday.
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