Maryvale Prep senior co-captain Miley Snodgrass powered her hitters with 26 assists and junior Sophia Harari and senior co-captain Abbi Tranchini combined for 18 kills to lead No. 3 Maryvale Prep to a 25-22, 25-18, 25-15 triumph over host No. 15 St. Pauls.
The showdown was a rematch of the 2024 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference final won by the Lions in four sets for their fourth straight IAAM title.
It was the first conference loss for the Gators (4-1, 5-2 overall) and moved the Lions (3-1, 6-1) closer to the top.
Snodgrass kept the Gators off guard by feeding outside and middle hitters, or dropping a set for back row kills.
“I feel like I have a lot of trust, like I can trust in every position I know I will I have someone to hit, so it’s easier to move my hitters around and move our offense and trick the other team, because I know I have trust in my other hitters,” she said.
Maryvale controlled the first set, but the Gators made a late run led by leading hitter Jasmin Tucker (17.1 kills pre game) who finished with a season-high 23 kills.
“We’ve been working on that a lot, sealing the deal,” Maryvale coach Missy Little said. “We just allowed them to sneak back in a little bit.”
St. Paul’s assistant coach Jala Tucker praised her younger sister, Jasmin, and junior Laney Schollaert for keeping the first set close despite missing 6-foot-2 middle hitter and leading blocker Breyanna Cook because of illness.
“We told the girls everyone has to step up and you have to ball out and I think they really showed that in the first set,” Tucker said. “They really showed a lot of grit and especially Jasmin. She was our main offensive player and I think she did a great job of leading her team and not just like skill-wise, but also as a team player, like she was the one to turn the rest around.”
Maryvale got the message and in the second set Harari (11 kills) had four kills as they cruised to victory. Tranchini had three of her seven kills in the final set.
Defensively, Victoria Small led the Lions with 10 digs and Snodgrass contributed six, including two one-ball returns off vicious Tucker hits that led to winning points in the third set.
“I was just trying to cover my face,” Snodgrass said.
Although they couldn’t completely stop Tucker, they slowed her down.
“I think our biggest adjustment going in today was trying to stop their biggest hitter [Jasmin Tucker] so it was like always trying to stop her, so that they lose their options because obviously they use her a lot so like blocking her and picking up her balls made our offense a lot easier to run,” Snodgrass said.
Maryvale also got three kills from Lyla Maracut and a pair of blocks from Rhian O’Connor in the match and coach Little was impressed with her team’s chemistry.
“We have girls of all ages and they are doing a phenomenal job and I think that the thing that makes us stand out is just our synergy, we may not be the tallest, but we have the will, we have the determination and we have the loyalty to one another and I think that’s what just separates us from other teams,” Little said. “We play more of a strategic game and I thought our passing was really well and that allows Miley to do her magic and it just really showcases her talent when the passes come to her and even when they don’t she is still great at getting them and making a play. It’s just amazing how well they do work together.”
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