At a total height of 149 inches stand the cousin combo of Lauren and Matt Bosse.
Unknown to many, Lauren Bosse, a junior standout at Towson High School, which recently captured the Maryland 3A state volleyball championship, is the cousin of Calvert Hall senior three-sport star Matt Bosse, who has already committed to play baseball at the University of Maryland.
In addition to volleyball, Lauren is a lacrosse standout at Towson, while Matt plays volleyball, basketball and baseball at Calvert Hall, at one point winning consecutive championships in each sport.
Matt Bosse’s title run started when he helped the Cardinals win their fifth straight MIAA baseball championship, in 2009, by knocking in the winning run in the seventh inning. It continued when he anchored the volleyball team to its own MIAA Championship the following fall and, last winter, he was a member of Calvert Hall’s basketball team as it won its first Baltimore Catholic League Tournament Championship in 26 years.
Lauren Bosse had the day of her life in the state championship match, against perennial power Centennial, when she led all hitters with 18 kills in a five set thriller. In lacrosse, she also plays for the renowned Skywalkers club team and is being heavily recruited by many Division 1 programs. She plans on playing lacrosse in college, but volleyball remains extremely important to her.
“That may have been one of the best volleyball matches I have ever seen and my little cousin was in it,” said Matt Bosse. “I thought it was kind of ironic that Lauren got to make the final play in her championship game when I got the chance to end the MIAA baseball championship my sophomore year. After the game, I will admit my eyes were filled with tears because of how proud I was of Lauren. I love her so much.”
Lauren Bosse’s role in the championship match was not limited to the final point. She was pivotal in Towson’s control of the middle of the net as she delivered an impressive array of spikes and placement dinks away from opponents or to the back corners. On the final point, Bosse put away an overpass to set off a championship celebration for her team.
The Bosses, who both play the middle hitter position, come by their volleyball talents honestly. Matt’s parents Martin and Theresa, as well as Lauren’s parents, Paul and Patty, in addition their mutual uncle Joe Bosse, were all standout volleyball players in the Baltimore area.
“It was really in our blood to play and I feel like we were destined to follow in our family’s footsteps,” said Lauren Bosse. “Matt may be one of the greatest athletes to play in the MIAA and go to Calvert Hall.”
Matt Bosse loves the challenge of competing in multiple sports, but he admits there is a difficult transition with each season.
“It is very difficult to go from one sport to the next because some guys just focus on that sport and I am sort of thrown into the mix at the last second,” said Bosse. “I have played on some of the greatest teams with the best coaches anyone could ask for. It is really the people who surround me that make me successful.”
“When our family gets together at parties we sometimes double and triple team Sasquatch (Matt’s nickname),” joked Lauren. “He is so strong and athletic that it is not fair when we play sport games.”
Both Bosses maintain high marks in the classroom, despite the time demands of playing sports.
“Wait until you see the rest of my little cousins and my little brother Nathan because he was bigger than me when I was in the seventh grade,” said Matt Bosse, who is already hard at work with the Calvert Hall basketball team after his long volleyball season which ended with a loss to Loyola in the MIAA A Conference championship match. And, don’t be surprised if he sneaks in a few trips to the batting cage over the winter, in preparation for another playoff push with the Cardinal baseball team.
Lauren, meanwhile, has the winter off, but it is undoubtedly already hard at work with her preparations for the spring lacrosse season.
