The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association has rarely been accused of being a compassionate organization. Few governing bodies are, and at times that's understandable, for there are occasions when emotion can't dictate public policy.

All that said, the MPSSAA and its volleyball committee did the right thing in swapping the start times for Saturday's 4A and 3A state title matches, so that the 3A contest between top-ranked Reservoir and Huntingtown of Calvert County will now begin at 7:30 p.m., and the 4A contest, whose participants will be determined tonight, will start at 2:30 p.m.

The move essentially accommodates one person, Reservoir setter Tiffany Jacobson. Jacobson and her family are Seventh-Day Adventists, and the 6-foot-4 Jacobson would not have been permitted by her religion from playing Saturday until after sundown, which would have meant that she would not have been able to play at the original 2:30 time. Jacobson, her parents and Reservoir coach Carole Ferrante asked the MPSSAA at the beginning of the season for the change, a reasonable request since the Gators reached the state finals last year.

Why the MPSSAA waited until this week to make the change is not known, but at least it did, and for that, here are three words not often said about Maryland's answer to the NCAA:
Way to go!