Broad Run’s Sears Hits With Power, Direction

By Matthew Stanmyre

Originally published at 12:00 a.m., November 4, 2007
Updated at 1:49 p.m., November 6, 2007

When Lauren Sears soars through the air and blasts the volleyball with all her might, her parents can't help but smile from the stands. Sears — a senior outside hitter on the Broad Run volleyball team — displays the same enthusiasm for hitting she did as a youngster, when she sent her parents scrambling through the yard after her errant balls.

"It was always my whole goal to hit the ball as hard as possible," Sears said. "And my parents ended up chasing the balls all over the place. It never got old."

Now, her hits have often resulted in points for Broad Run (20-2), which is in the midst of its best season in school history. The Spartans' 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Heritage on Thursday clinched a Region II tournament berth, marking the first time in more than a decade that Broad Run will make a region appearance.

In their third meeting of the season, the Spartans pushed top-ranked and undefeated Loudoun County to five games in the Dulles district final before falling 25-17, 15-25, 25-13, 15-25, 15-7."

Photo: Richard A. Lipski

Loudoun County's Marguerite Hanna takes on Broad Run's Lauren Sears, right, and Kristen Burt. The Spartans' season is the best in school history.

Sears, who will play for Southern Mississippi next year, has much to do with the team's success. She leads the Spartans in kills (238), aces (100) and blocks (43), and has helped a once-dormant program become a force at the Group AA level.

"Lauren has tremendous power, tremendous skill," Broad Run Coach Susan Dezzutti said. "She's a player that the rest of the girls really look up to."

The Spartans look up to Sears figuratively and literally — she is 6-foot-2 — and in both instances her parents are at least partially to thank. Kim and David Sears played division I volleyball. They met during a co-ed game when David accidentally knocked Kim over.

"My dad literally swept my mom off her feet," Lauren said, laughing.

The Searses coached after their collegiate careers, and their love of the game, along with their size — Kim is 6 feet and David is 6-6 — was passed on to their children. Lauren's older sister, Sarah, is a sophomore outside hitter at Stetson University in Florida, and her younger sister, Emily, is a freshman outside hitter at Broad Run.

Sears has a natural feel for the game, which has made her a force. With one of the most powerful strikes in the area, Sears can place those dangerous hits anywhere on the court. The result has been a monumental campaign for Broad Run, which set a school record for victories in a season and also beat Heritage this year for the first time.

At the middle of the success is Sears, who blasts the ball all over the court and relishes doing so.

"She does have that mentality of going up and ripping the cover off the ball," her mother said. "That never changed from when she was a kid."

Tagged: high school sports

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?