HEARTBREAK & GLORY

BEL AIR, Md. — As the final point dropped and Clear Spring began its celebration, a Patterson Mill player fell to her knees on the APGFCU Arena court at Harford Community College, stunned as the reality set in. Around her, teammates stood in quiet disbelief, seniors slowly absorbing that this wasn’t just the end of a match, it was the end of their high school volleyball careers and one of the greatest eras in Patterson Mill history.

For Patterson Mill, Saturday’s 3–2 loss to the Clear Spring Blazers in the MPSSAA 1A state championship was the culmination of an extraordinary four-year journey that saw this senior class reach the state semifinals every year of their high school careers and finally break through to the title match.

The Huskies finished 2025 as state finalists after a 13–2 regular season and another deep postseason run, falling just short against a Clear Spring program that has become a powerhouse in Maryland volleyball.
Clear Spring’s recent resume reads like a dynasty: state champion in 2025, 2023 and 2022, state finalist in 2024 and a state semifinalist in 2021. Patterson Mill’s seniors spent their careers staring down that standard, and more often than not, meeting it head on.

This year, they nearly toppled the Blazers on the biggest stage.

Patterson Mill took the first set 25–23, then traded momentum in a tight 25–22 second set win for Clear Spring. The Huskies surged again in the third, edging out another 25–23 victory to move one set away from a state title. Clear Spring answered with a dominant 25–15 fourth set, then closed out the match 15–9 in the deciding fifth.

Even in defeat, the Huskies’ stat line reflected how fiercely they competed.

Samiyah Hubbard finished with six kills and seven digs. Mia Jelen powered the offense with 13 kills, two service aces and two digs. Libero Angela Kim anchored the back row with 13 digs, adding two kills and an assist. Addison Plourde collected 12 digs, while Harlon Jones added six kills and two digs.

At the net, Rylie Madsen posted nine kills and Sophie Lopano turned in a strong two-way performance with seven kills and 10 digs. Setter Brooke Bazzett ran the attack with 39 assists, adding one kill and five digs as she guided the Huskies through another five-set battle with one of the state’s best.

For the seven seniors on the roster — Lopano, Hubbard, Jelen, Madsen, Jones, Kim and Plourde — the loss was painful, but it came at the end of a four-year stretch few programs can match.

In 2022, their freshman season, Patterson Mill reached the 1A state semifinals before falling 3–2 to South Carroll. In 2023, they pushed Clear Spring to five sets in the semis and came up just short again, 3–2. In 2024, the Blazers swept the Huskies 3–0 in the semifinals, ending another promising run.

Instead of fading, Patterson Mill responded.

The Huskies returned in 2025 determined to go further, posting a 13–2 regular season and powering through the 1A bracket. They advanced past Green Street Academy in the state semifinals to reach the program’s latest milestone: a spot in the MPSSAA 1A state championship game, once again facing the familiar blue and gold of Clear Spring.

This time, Patterson Mill did more than simply stand on the same court as the Blazers. The Huskies pushed them to the brink, winning two of the first three sets and forcing the defending juggernaut to dig deep to reclaim the title.

The final record books will show Clear Spring as 2025 state champion and Patterson Mill as state finalist. They will list the Huskies as semifinalists in 2022, 2023 and 2024. They will note that in three of the past four years, Patterson Mill’s season ended at the hands of the Blazers.

What those lines cannot fully capture is the standard this senior class set for the program.

In four seasons, this group helped make state trips feel expected rather than exceptional. They turned reaching the semifinals into routine. They brought the Huskies to the edge of a championship against one of the most dominant high school programs in Maryland volleyball.

Their legacy will live on in the underclassmen who watched them handle both heartbreak and triumph, then returned to the gym to work some more. It will echo in every future Patterson Mill team that circles “states” on its preseason goals and believes it is possible because it has been done before and done consistently.

On Saturday, as one player cried on the court and teammates gathered around to lift her up, the emotion told the story. The tears were not just for a match lost, but for four years of bus rides, practices, rallies, long nights and longer seasons that have reshaped what Patterson Mill volleyball means.

The Huskies did not leave with the 1A state championship trophy. They left with something harder to measure but just as real — a legacy built on resilience, excellence and the belief that Patterson Mill belongs on Maryland’s biggest stage.