SMITHSBURG - It has almost become a regular routine for Jim Klein to make an appearance at the region championship match since he became the Smithsburg volleyball coach in 1995.
Wednesday, Smithsburg advanced to the Maryland Class 1A South Region volleyball championship match for the third straight year and for the fourth time in the last five years with a 15-7, 16-14, 15-6 victory over the Blazers in the region semifinals.
Smithsburg (13-3) will host Williamsport at 6 p.m. Friday for the region title.
Last year, Smithsburg won both the region title and the state title.
"We got to play our freshmen a lot," Klein said. "We worked on a couple of different lineups. When I used different combinations, it helped me to analyze my team a little bit better. We got to work on different things for next year and for our next match. Everyone got to play and they played pretty well. I think that we are ready for the next step."