Meet Richard Montgomery Volleyball Libero: Ana Djordjevic and Updates From Across the County!

County Sports Zone works hard to get you the high school sports info, news and updates you are looking for, faster and easier. This weekly newsletter brings the latest scores, updates, and highlights straight to your inbox. If you love it, share it so others can subscribe too. If it is not for you, feel free to unsubscribe and visit us anytime at CountySports.Zone. Most of the content below is image based, so depending on how you are viewing, you may need to download the images to see everything. Click here or scroll below to read this week’s top stories.

On Sept. 17, senior libero Ana Djordjevic reached the career milestone of 500 digs. Read more below to meet the Richard Montgomery star!

Ana Djordjevic won back-to-back state championships her freshman and sophomore years. And yet reaching 500 career digs felt even bigger to her.

The dramatic, set-winning kill usually gets most of the attention, but Djordjevic is a libero, maintaining the backlines of the court, which is a key element of the game that doesn’t get the highlight recognition.

Going into the match in which she would reach the milestone on Sept. 17 vs. Clarksburg, she knew she was close, but not how close. So when the second-year captain reached 500 digs, it was a big moment because in her first years on the team, she would see the senior class reaching these milestones. Now, it’s her turn.

Volleyball moves quickly, so the celebration during the game was brief, but after Richard Montgomery completed its 3-0 sweep of the Coyotes, coach Gretchen Barber-Strunk gave Djordjevic a game ball to commemorate the moment.

Djordjevic’s family has been there since step one. Her parents, Helena and Bratislav, attend all of her games in support, and Djordjevic is extremely grateful for their encouragement.

“Not a lot of people can say that their parents were at every single tournament and every single game,” Djordjevic said. “Whether we win or lose, it’s my parents who are always there after, no matter what.”

When Richard Montgomery won the two state championships in 2023 and 2024, Ana wasn’t the only member of her family playing volleyball for the Rockets. Her older sister, Ema, was there as well, as an opposite hitter. They knew how to bring out the best in each other, especially in high-pressure moments.

“Every time we won any game, I would just want to run straight to her because it’s just special, and you don’t really get to share big stuff like that usually with your siblings,” Ana said.

Throughout her high school career, one constant has been Barber-Strunk, who is in year 14 as the Rockets’ head coach. This year is the sixth season that Barber-Strunk has coached at least one of the Djordjevic sisters. She has developed a great relationship with the Djordjevic family as a result. She trusts that Ana will speak up when necessary and help the team any way she can.

“I can’t say enough good things about the type of person she is, the type of player she is,” Barber-Strunk said.

The praise is mutual. Ana called Barber-Strunk her favorite coach she’s ever had and commended her ability to keep the team disciplined while still having fun.

“I don’t think there’s any other coach who cares about you as much as a player as they do about you as a person,” Ana said. “There are a lot of coaches who want you to be the best player or they want you to be the best person, but Coach Gretchen, she wants both.”

Ana is figuring out what her next steps are going to be. She wants to continue playing volleyball in college and is searching for opportunities to do so. At school, she works with Rocket Center, a student-run journalistic organization, which sparked an interest in sports journalism.

Ana will carry more than 500 digs and about 150 service aces into the rest of her senior year as she aims for her third state championship.

Most founders are one system away from turning LinkedIn into their best sales channel.

Engagement is easy to mistake for pipeline. On Sep 30, watch how a founder turns LinkedIn content into real outreach. Live. You'll walk away with a repeatable system: what to post, who to reach out to, and how to sequence it. 

Eligible startups also get the LinkedIn-to-Leads Toolkit: ad credits, Apollo, Captions, and HubSpot's Prospecting Agent.

Claim my spot

Week four of the fall sports season is in the books. Let’s take a look around Montgomery County and see how the week unfolded.

FOOTBALL

Sherwood had outscored their opponents 129-6 through the first three weeks of the season. They dominated Magruder, Seneca Valley and Rockville in those games and entered week four ready for a matchup vs Blake. The Bengals had a dominant week three victory over Springbrook, winning 41-0, but their other two games had a margin of victory of 15 points or less. They brought the fight to the Warriors, but came up just short.

Down 14-7 late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals found the end zone for a touchdown. However, the two-point conversion attempt was no good. Sherwood’s defense held strong to clinch the victory by a single point. 14-13 was the final, allowing Sherwood to remain undefeated at 4-0, while Blake dropped to 2-2.

Some of the other matchups from this past week included another dominant Quince Orchard win, a 35-0 win over the Screaming Eagles, a narrow 41-36 win for Kennedy over Springbrook, and the Winston Churchill Bulldogs staying undefeated. They beat Walt Whitman 35-14.

As we enter October, the stakes increase. One game to look at for this week is between two undefeated squads. The Bulldogs travel to Quince Orchard for a Friday night tilt. Be sure to tune in for one of the most anticipated matchups of the season thus far.

FLAG FOOTBALL

Some exciting news for Poolesville came out this past week, as the Baltimore Ravens’ “Rise” program named head coach Scott Davis their girls flag football coach of the week. One of five remaining undefeated teams in MCPS play, Coach Davis’ Falcons have been dominant. They’ve shut out three of their five opponents and the two games where they didn’t complete a shutout, it was just 12 points allowed per game. It has been more than just the defense that has been stout, however. 125 points of offense through those five games is second to just Clarksburg, the two-time defending state champions. Poolesville won 25-0 vs Seneca Valley in their most recent game.

The Coyotes also remained undefeated with a 47-6 victory over Northwest. Damascus shut out Watkins Mill 28-0, and Richard Montgomery won a nail biter over Blair 14-13.

A couple of matchups to look out for this week include Richard Montgomery vs Rockville and Poolesville vs Watkins Mill. Also be sure to follow Sherwood this week, as they play two highly anticipated matches vs Springbrook and Damascus.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Three teams remain undefeated in MCPS play. Those are Wootton, Sherwood and Richard Montgomery. The Patriots have lost just four sets all season long vs MCPS opponents and went 2-0 this past week. They defeated Bethesda-Chevy Chase 3-2 and Walter Johnson 3-1.

Winston Churchill also went 2-0 this past week, taking down Quince Orchard in four sets and Walt Whitman in five sets.

The Rockets have lost just one set throughout four games vs MCPS opponents, and it came vs Churchill in the Bulldogs one and only loss of the season. Since, it has all been three set sweeps for Richard Montgomery.

The story is exactly the same for Sherwood. One set lost in conference play. It came back on September 10th in a four set win over Northwest, and they’ve swept all of their opponents since.

Be sure to check out some highly anticipated matchups this coming week! Churchill vs Quince Orchard, Wootton vs Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Richard Montgomery vs Einstein are all bound to be great games you don’t want to miss!

Fresh-Roasted Coffee, Without Leaving the House

A third-generation LA roaster ships 50+ coffees — single origins, flavored favorites, decafs, even teas — days after roasting. Mix and match Keurig®-compatible boxes for tiered savings up to 34% off. First order? Take an extra 15% off, automatically.

Taste It Fresh

BOYS SOCCER

Clarksburg improved to 6-0 with two victories this past week vs Northwest and Poolesville. They have another two-game week ahead with games vs Seneca Valley and Walt Whitman.

Winston Churchill is the other undefeated team that remains in MCPS matchups. They defeated Whitman and Wootton this past week to improve to 5-0. They play just one this week vs 3-1-1 Walter Johnson.

Sherwood and Poolesville both had good weeks, each going 2-0. Sherwood defeated Gaithersburg and Magruder, while Poolesville beat Springbrook and Blake.

Some other notable results from this past week include Kennedy’s 1-0 victory over Rockville and Richard Montgomery’s 3-2 win over Blair.

GIRLS SOCCER

Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, Poolesville, Winston Churchill and Bethesda-Chevy Chase remain the five teams undefeated vs MCPS opponents in 2026.

This past week, Blair easily took down both Richard Montgomery and Northwest. However, they did finally give up their first goal vs an MCPS opponent vs the Rockets, making their goal differential 34-1 in conference play this season.

The Titans also have an extremely impressive goal differential. 28-1 in their favor. They shut out both Kennedy and Wheaton this past week, 12-0 and 7-0 respectively.

Blair and Einstein face off on Tuesday in what will easily be each side’s toughest matchup of the season thus far. Einstein will have home field advantage for this highly anticipated matchup. Be sure to tune in!

Across the rest of MCPS this week includes a matchup between Winston Churchill and Walter Johnson on Wednesday. Both sides are looking for their fifth win vs an MCPS opponent this season, but will have to go through each other to get there.

One other anticipated matchup for this week is Paint Branch vs Gaithersburg on Wednesday.

FIELD HOCKEY

Walt Whitman remains undefeated through four weeks of action, the lone one left for MCPS field hockey. It took until their most recent game, vs Walter Johnson, to give up their first goals of the season against a conference opponent. They allowed two goals, but it didn’t matter because the Viking offense scored eight. Whitman has scored eight or more goals in every MCPS game this season, even against the only other team with four wins in Montgomery County. They have emerged as the heavy favorite in 2026.

Rockville was handed their first MCPS loss of the season in a slight upset 2-1 loss to Richard Montgomery. The Rams will look to get back into the win column this week in games vs Northwood and Einstein.

Another game to look out for this week is Wootton vs Walter Johnson. The Patriots are looking for win number four, but will have to hand the Wildcats their second consecutive loss.

CROSS COUNTRY

Check out this week’s cross country action!

PICKLEBALL

Check out the upcoming pickleball action!

We’re looking for student ambassadors who love sports, media, and telling great stories. Join the CSZ team, build your portfolio, and get your work featured in this newsletter and across our platform.

Apply now to become a CSZ Student Ambassador.