As editor of the Centennial High School yearbook's sport section, Liz Brown likely spends a fair amount of time highlighting the exploits of the 14-time state champion Eagles volleyball team, on which she is a captain.

But this year, while proofreading pages, she will be constantly reminded of how her 2009 season came to an early end.

Although Centennial won its 15th county title and first District V title, the Eagles lost in the Class 3A East regional championship to county rival River Hill, which made it to the state championship.

"I'm pretty sure that any other school would consider it a success to have a county and district championship," said Brown, the Columbia Flier/Howard County Times volleyball Player of the Year. "(But) I really do not enjoy losing at all."

Brown did just about everything she could do to keep Centennial from losing, playing outside hitter, right side hitter and even setter this season. In that season-ending loss to River Hill, she had 10 kills and a team-high 23 assists and was 11-for-11 from the service line.

On the season, she tallied a team-high 154 kills and served a robotic 97.4 percent with only four errors in 154 attempts. She also had 89 assists when she played setter, was second on the team with 165 digs, made 132 service receptions with only four errors (third on the team) and was fourth on the team with 14 blocks.

"The one thing I focus on is being able to play all those spots, especially setting," the 6-foot junior said. "I like playing all the way around because I get to do a bit of everything."

Brown said she most enjoys hitting the ball, but she "was willing to set because I need to practice that to become a better all-around player."

Brown began playing volleyball in the Howard County Youth Program when she was 10 years old. Centennial coach Larry Schofield first saw her play about two years later. He and Mike Bossom, the Centennial head coach from 1994 to 2005, took one look at her precise hands and knew they had a star in waiting.

"She was a little gangly, reasonably tall for an 11 or 12 year old," Schofield said. "We were smiling because we knew where she lived (in the Centennial district). We said, 'We have a good one here.' "

So far Brown has exceeded the lofty expectations that Schofield had for her five years ago.

Most of this season, she excelled in her preferred position on the right side. But in the regular season finale, with the outright county title on the line, the Eagles were scuffling against Marriotts Ridge and down, 2-1, in games.

Schofield said he "just needed to shake things up" and he put Brown in at setter, a position she also played for last year's state championship run. Brown said that she was worried about going in and getting "a bunch of double hits," but she came in and had 12 assists while leading the Eagles' comeback. She also had a season-high 15 kills in that match.

"I knew she was smart enough and mentally strong enough" to switch positions mid-match, Schofield said. Setter "is a natural position for her because she doesn't necessarily want to take charge, but she's not afraid to take charge."

While Schofield sees her as a setter in college, it is telling that Brown's favorite college player is Blair Brown, Penn State's 6-foot-5 right side hitter, who has 324 kills and 67 assists for the undefeated Nittany Lions.

"She's incredible," Brown said.

But then again, Brown hates losing, and she's willing to play whatever position it takes to make sure she's laying out a page describing Centennial's state championship for the 2011 yearbook.

Named to the all-county first team are:

Outside hitters

Sam Brostrom, Centennial junior. Like Brown, Brostrom chips in just about everywhere. Her serve is a little more devastating and a little less accurate than Brown's: she had a team-high 57 aces and served at a shade under 90 percent. She had 138 kills and a team-high 2.7 per game, and is arguably the most powerful and effective hitter in the league.

"When she hits the ball, people duck," coach Larry Schofield said.

But where Brostrom evolved since last year, when she was also named first team all-county, was on defense. She was the team's best serve receiver, making only seven errors in 186 chances, and led the Eagles with 186 digs.

"Her serve receive, 2.42 for the season, that's really good. There are college players that can't perform at that level," Schofield said.

Lillie Happel, Covenant Community senior. Most fans don't know about Happel because she played for the home-school based Bravehearts, but she is one of the top prep players in the state.

Happel is 6 feet tall, but moves with the grace of a libero.

She led the Bravehearts with 429 kills, 98 aces, 18 blocks, 344 digs and 338 serve receptions. About the only categories she didn't lead the team in were assists and serve percentage. Prior to this season, she had been a setter for the Bravehearts, amassing 852 career assists.

"I don't think she knows how tall she is. She still plays like she's 5-foot-5, and she was 5-foot-5 when she was 10. She's very defensive minded," coach Ian Beam said.

This season she topped the 1,000-mark for both kills (1,143) and digs (1,092) in her career.

"I never found an upper limit for Lillie," Beam said.

Happel led the Bravehearts to a 26-3-3 record and a first-place finish in the Silver Division of the National Homeschool Tournament in Omaha, Neb., and was named most valuable player.

She has signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., next year.

Sarah Okey, River Hill junior. Okey was the leading source of kills (212) on the Hawks team that upset defending state champ Centennial in the regional championship and then made it to the state title match for the second time in school history.

"Last year she was predictable as a hitter. She really worked on that and developed a large range of hits," coach Sybil Modispacher said. "She's good but she's going to get even that much better."

Tall and lanky at 6-foot-3, Okey is nimble enough to play solid defense.

"Instead of taking three steps to get somewhere, she can take just one," Modispacher said.

She recorded 32 aces, 11 blocks and 60 digs this season and had the match-winning kill in a state semifinal win over Towson. She had 30 in two matches on the big stage at Ritchie Coliseum. In the regional championship win over Centennial, she led all players with 17 kills.

Julie Poston, Reservoir senior. Poston will go down as one of the best hitters to ever wear the Gators' uniform. The lefty's hit was a little different than what most defenses were used to and she used it to rack up 1,009 career kills, coach Carole Ferrante said.

She had 20 kills and 10 aces in a win over Hammond in September and 23 kills in a five-game win over Mt. Hebron in the opening round of the playoffs, including the match-winner.

Poston made an immediate impact as a freshman, recording six of her 49 aces in a state championship match loss. As a sophomore she took on a bigger role, breaking the 200-kill mark, and helped lead the Gators to an undefeated season and the school's first state title.

"I am so glad to be on these different teams that I was on and I love them all," she said.

Megan Rosburg, River Hill junior. Rosburg's arrival in Howard County was met with fanfare mostly for the fact that her father is assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens. But by the end of this season, she made a name for herself. As an underclassman and a transfer, one could have expected Rosburg to be shy and reserved, but she was the polar opposite: a fiery and outspoken leader.

"That's just her personality, pumped and intense," coach Sybil Modispacher said.

Rosburg served accurately (92 percent) and powerfully (42 aces). She had 145 kills, 127 digs and a serve receive average above 2.0.

"She does everything well, she just never gives up on a ball or a play. She actually could (set or play libero)," Modispacher said.

Rosburg had 15 kills in the Class 3A East championship win over Centennial, including the match-winner. She also had 13 kills in a five-game state semifinal win.

Casey Schmidt, Glenelg senior. Two years ago, Schmidt was one of the league's top setters. Last year she split time between setter and hitter and this year, she made the move to hitter full time. That move suited Schmidt's powerful arm swing well and she racked up 230 kills, 232 digs and 45 service aces. She had more than 20 kills in a win over Howard, and had a match-high 18 kills in a regional championship loss to Marriotts Ridge.

"I wish we had her again next year. I'm really going to miss her work ethic in practice," coach Don Beall said. "It's going to be tough without her."

Beall said Schmidt is considering playing both softball and volleyball at a Division III college, or playing one or the other at a Division I school.

Middle hitter

Sarah Gordon, River Hill senior. Before helping River Hill on its run to the state title match, Gordon excelled in a win over eventual IAAM champ Mount de Sales in pool play of the elite Bulldog tournament at North Caroline High School.

"She really took control of that match with her blocking and hitting," coach Sybil Modispacher said.

Gordon's unpredictable variety of attacks, including a nearly unstoppable quick hit, made her one of the hardest players to defend at the net.

Gordon had 17 kills in a five-game, comeback win over Towson in the state semifinals.

The team's mantra, according to Modispacher, was "if you can get it to Gordon, go to Gordon."

Modispacher said several schools are interested in Gordon for her volleyball ability, but the senior aspires to be a pediatric oncologist and wants to focus on her studies in college.

Libero

Laura Whitney, River Hill senior. Whitney was the rare libero who could make the wild, diving dig when necessary, but was also smooth and steady enough to make every single routine play as well.

"She gave everything she had in every match," coach Sybil Modispacher said. "She really improved on being able to read hitters."

But it wasn't enough for Whitney to only help the team with her defense, she also served 92 percent with 35 aces. Whitney was outstanding in the regional championship win at Centennial, seemingly knowing where each Centennial hard hit ball was going before it was hit. She had 26 digs in a comeback win over Towson in the state semifinal and will play for Gettysburg next year.

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