Phil Kozlowski’s mother, a volleyball star at Rutgers, got her sons started with the sport early in their lives, long before they grew to nearly 6-and-a-half feet tall with rocket right arms.
Phil and his brother, Peter, now star for Harford Tech, which they led to a second consecutive Harford County title this year with a five-set victory over Fallston. There’s a three-peat to go for next year. But in the meantime, Phil is The Aegis 2025 high school boys volleyball player of the year after leading the Cobras in serve and hitting percentage, totaling 103 kills and 58 aces.
That ability was on display during the county title match against the Cougars. With the match tied at 2, Kozlowski opened the decisive fifth set on the service line. Strike after strike, the ball spun from his right hand downward toward the hardwood just after it eclipsed the net, an unstoppable touch that Fallston couldn’t solve. He got his team out to a 5-0 lead in an eventual 15-11 victory that gave Harford Tech its second straight crown.
“We all work together as a team,” Kozlowski said. “We all know each other. We’d played together before last year. Having that bond playing together really helped us connect.”
Alongside Phil was his twin brother. Peter posted a similarly dominant season with 136 digs, which led the team, 238 kills and 43 aces. Slowing both of them down proved a futile task. The Cobras lost just once all year, a regular-season defeat to Fallston that they avenged when it mattered.
“We’ve been best friends growing up, so it’s pretty nice having that connection,” Phil said. “We’re already connected mentally. He could know when I was gonna set up and to be ready for a set. That can’t be easy [to play against].”
The Kozlowskis will return next season eying a three-peat. They weren’t as integral to the first championship in 2024 but were key in 2025’s win. Phil has plans to take his play up another level and will spend his time until next fall playing on the club circuit. There’d be no better way to end his high school career than becoming a three-time champion.
“We still mostly have the same group,” Kozlowski said. “Hopefully we’re able to do the same thing.”
Coach of the year
Bill Stewart, Fallston
While Kozlowski’s Cobras repeated as Harford County champions, Stewart’s Fallston squad was their toughest match.
Stewart led Fallston to the county title game, in which he took Harford Tech to five sets. The Cougars finished the season 13-2, their only losses both coming in five sets and one of those wins coming over Harford Tech in the regular season. They won in three sets nine times and were only pushed to five sets in two of those victories. That gave Fallston the top seed in the Harford County tournament.
Under Stewart, Fallston has three players on The Aegis’ boys volleyball All-County team, the most of any school. The Cougars were led by Shaughn Kelly, who led the team in kills (146), aces (39) and blocks (27).
All-County team
Keegan Batchelder, North Harford, senior, RS
Jordan Bogarty, North Harford, senior, OH
Ryan Chaney, North Harford, senior, DS
Mason Crouch, C. Milton Wright, senior, MB
Jackson DeNichilo, Fallston, junior, MB
Jack Grabowski, John Carroll, senior, OH
Brody Hichkad, C. Milton Wright, senior, OH
Shaughn Kelly, Fallston, junior, OH
Peter Kozlowski, Harford Tech, junior, OH
Benjamin Lukas, Bel Air, junior, OH
Luke Price, Fallston, senior, S
Julius Scales, Havre de Grace, junior, S
Jacob Webber, Harford Tech, junior, MB
Cullen Young, Patterson Mill, senior, RS
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