Bel Air boys volleyball mounts comeback to beat Harford Tech, 3-2, for Harford County championship

Oct. 30—Larry Tsomos kept losing his glasses.

The spectacles that rest atop his head as the Bel Air boys volleyball coach roams the sideline first fell in the third set, with the Bobcats down two sets and in a neck-and-neck third. It was a blip of emotion that nearly resembled frustration from a coach who wears positive affirmation and confidence on his sleeve.

Then in the fourth set, after a timely Jason Corcoran kill, a tomato-faced Tsomos went for the double high five with his senior middle hitter and again, off came the glasses. Then of course, the glasses hit the deck — as did Tsomos — when the final point was scored in Bel Air's five-set thriller over Harford Tech, 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-10 in the Harford County championship match.

Was there ever a shred of doubt from Tsomos that his team could storm back?

"Never," he said. "Never in my life have I ever felt like we couldn't make a comeback or we were winning a game until the last whistle. I don't have that mentality. Absolutely not. I don't care if it's 24-0. It's fight, fight, fight. ... Things happened in this game that could've gotten to their heads but I make them understand they have my unconditional trust."

The energy undertook its greatest shift in the third set, the first time Tsomos lost his glasses.

It had been all Harford Tech up to that point: a quasi-convincing first-set win followed by squeaking out the second. The Cobras intensity rolled over right into the third.

When Bel Air took a 14-13 lead, the Bobcats section of the crowd livened up. "This is definitely a fan-based sport," one family member said later. Most sports are. But on this particular night, in that particular moment, it surely helped inject life into the now four-time reigning Harford County champions (no 2020 tournament).

Senior outside hitter Chris Couch said when Harford Tech needed a timeout in the third set, he felt the game sway in his team's favor. By that point, he said, the Bobcats cleaned up a lot of the little mistakes holding them back. Couch had five of his team's 11 aces.

Tom Silver, the Bobcats' senior setter who finished with 36 assists, said the nerves set in after the first set.

Bel Air had only a pair of losses all season, dropping back-to-back matches to John Carroll and Calvert Hall in late September. Although Silver joked their group has a bit of a reputation for falling apart after first-set losses.

"You lose the second set, it's even worse," Silver said. "But there was some kind of surreal feeling the whole game like we didn't think we could lose. I didn't have the thought of losing for even a second."

Some of that comes from Tsomos.

The coach will constantly remind his players there is no time limit in volleyball (they extended Monday's game by an hour). He'll preach it's all about the next point. And sometimes, Tsomos will offer an unrelated inquiry to ease their minds.

Like when his team is down 2-0 in the heat of battle, the 29-year coach will ask his players who their favorite superhero is. "It clears your mind," Silver said. "Resets you."

By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Aegis: Top stories

It was certainly the reset Bel Air needed. The Bobcats held on to win the third set and, quite frankly, never lost control in the fourth and fifth. They opened with a 7-1 lead in the final set before closing out the win.

"The great thing about their coach and their team is they've been here before," Harford Tech coach Gary Clement said. "My guys got up and then they kind of got flat. It was hard to get the momentum back when we got a little flat."

Bel Air's play style can be deafening.

Whether it's a saved ball that shouldn't have been, or a Couch rocket just barely in bounds — Silver with a timely dump or perfectly placed assist — when those plays result in points, players share in reverberating high-fives and mosh pit-like shoves all around.

Harford Tech emerged from the thorns just to be in this game. The Cobras finished 7-7 a year ago and went nearly perfect this season, 12-2, with both losses coming at the hands of the Bobcats. Their last bout went four sets.

This one certainly needed all five — only the third time that's happened all season for Bel Air — to stage a comeback.

"Whatever [our players may] think went wrong," Tsomos said, "next point we're fighting because these are the people I trust. These are the people I have on the court. These are the people I know are going to come back."