Annalise Lewis had a couple of things working in her favor as a new volleyball player. First, her mother played collegiately at Morgan State. Lewis was enamored and wanted to give the sport a try when she was old enough. Her mother signed her up in third grade and she hasn’t looked back. She was forced to play up with higher age groups every year until she reached high school.
Perhaps because of those genes.
Secondly, on that third-grade team, Lewis’ coach was Dave Simon. Simon has coached various youth and club level teams throughout the area in addition to his role at Bel Air. So, when Lewis reached high school and joined the Bobcats, familiarity with her coach and his expectations made the transition smooth.
Four years later, as a senior now weighing her own college options, Lewis is The Aegis 2025 high school girls volleyball Player of the Year. The senior right side hitter posted 168 kills, second most in the county and most on Bel Air, as well as 82 digs, second most on the team, and 13 aces.
“It was very easy to trust the program that I was going into,” Lewis said. “A lot of times you don’t know if you’re going to get out of it what you put into it. So it was like, I could trust that I was going to get everything that I put into it, because he was putting everything into it also.”
She credits Simon for her success. Lewis said Bel Air’s staff of six coaches is unique to any other team she’s been a part of. It allows each coach to specialize in one area and teach just that skill, creating well-rounded players and a program that’s perennially on top.
Lewis led this year’s team to a 13-1 regular-season record and the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A East I region bracket. The Bobcats won in straight sets in each of their first three postseason games: North Harford in the regional semifinals, C. Milton Wright to clinch a region championship and Eastern Tech in the state quarterfinals. Bel Air fell in the Class 2A state semifinals to 17-time state champion Williamsport.
“We were friends on and off the court,” Lewis said. “So no matter what the situation was, we had each other’s backs.”
Along the way, Lewis hit several benchmarks that she didn’t expect to before this fall. The one that stands out the most was a 21-kill game, her most ever in a single contest. Performances like that became commonplace.
Lewis is the second consecutive Bel Air girls volleyball player to be named The Aegis’ player of the year, a testament to Simon’s program and the culture he establishes. That’s what Lewis, reflecting on her stellar senior year, says she’s thankful for the most and what made each day memorable.
“The people, it made it all worthwhile,” Lewis said. “Coming into practice and wanting to work hard for my teammates.”
Coach of the year
Josh Wagener, Patterson Mill
Wagener led the Huskies to the Class 1A state final this season after losing in the semifinals each of the previous three years. His team took five-time 1A state champion Clear Spring to five sets after losing in three in last year’s semifinals, a dramatic improvement led by a strong senior class and the second-year coach.
Patterson Mill lost just twice in the regular season, both to Class 3A state semifinalist Bel Air, on its way to a 16-4 overall record. The cross-town rivals met again in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference title game, another Bobcats victory. But from there, Wagener’s Huskies were hardly stopped.
They didn’t lose a set throughout their entire state playoff run until the final. They won 10 regular season games in three sets and only lost nine sets all regular season. Under Wagener’s leadership, Patterson Mill has four players on The Aegis’ All-County team, the most of any school, led by seniors Angela Kim (setter) and Sophie Lopano (outside hitter).
All-County girls volleyball team
Brooke Bazzett, Patterson Mill, junior, S
Grace Boseck, C. Milton Wright, senior, MB
Niana Coar, Aberdeen, senior, MB
Emma Duvall, Bel Air, senior, S
Macie Kane, Bel Air, junior, MB
Angela Kim, Patterson Mill, senior, L
Sophie Lopano, Patterson Mill, senior, OH
Sloane Mister, Fallston, junior, OH
Shania Oigbokie, John Carroll, senior, OH
Peyton Parise, Edgewood, junior, L
Addison Plourde, Patterson Mill, senior, DS
Megan Steinmiller, Joppatowne, sophomore, OH
Julie Stillwagon, Bel Air, senior, OH
Tara Stone, North Harford, junior, OH
Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.
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