Warriors remain among elite

The streak continued for Seven Rivers Christian, which retained its No. 3 spot in the Class 1A volleyball poll from last week.

The next match is Thursday against perennial power Lecanto. Seven Rivers' record moved to 11-0, 8-0 in District 7, after Monday's victory over Orlando Lutheran. Senior Danielle Albury had 13 kills and 13 assists to spark the Warriors.

Albury said with so many young players on the roster, the team cannot overemphasize any match.

"What we can't do is get really nervous," Albury said. "We're trying not to make it a big deal."

Seven Rivers coach Scott Lyons said beating an area opponent and winning a so-called county championship would be a bonus. The Warriors meet Crystal River and Citrus later in the season.

Lyons has seen Lecanto play this year. If the Panthers serve tough, it could be a close match, the coach said.

"For a small Christian school, it's an opportunity to play a 4A team that has good talent," Lyons said. "They play volleyball year-round, and they're very well-coached."

Lyons said his team's focus is on finishing district competition with Mount Dora Bible on Friday and Ocoee Central Florida Christian on Tuesday.

Wins in both matches would put the Warriors 10-0 in the district and make them the regular-season champs. It would mean a No. 1 seed in the district playoffs, which is one less match Seven Rivers would have to play to get to state.

LECANTO: Panthers coach Karen Dickson downplayed the significance of Thursday's meeting.

She said the week's most important match was Tuesday against Class 4A, District 7 foe Central, a squad Seven Rivers had beaten earlier in the season.

"They have a lot of raw talent on varsity, and it is very emotional because it's homecoming," Dickson said.

Entering the match, Heather Pontius heads Lecanto in kills (39). Stacey Lowe has 28 in addition to a team-leading 14 aces. Setter Lisa Carter has 66 assists and Kacie Henderson 45 digs.

CITRUS: Back-up setter Alli Camisa has been moved to one of the starting outside hitter spots.

With starting setter Samantha Hodson and middle hitter Brittney Doyle clicking on offense, coach Pam Woznicki wanted to put the 5-foot-8 Camisa to good use.

"I'm looking down the bench for somebody, and Alli went in and it wasn't anything powerful but she got the job done," Woznicki said of the junior. "I hate to have her sitting on the bench with such talent."

The Hurricanes were 2-5 entering Tuesday's match against Williston. Woznicki said every loss has been close.

"The frustrating part is knowing their skills are there and they understand the game, but for some reason they have a hard time working together," Woznicki said.

"Balls are dropping in between them, and they're playing balls that are out and just making bad decisions," she said.

CRYSTAL RIVER: The Pirates were 4-4 before Tuesday's match against Hernando.

The teams are in Class 3A, District 6 this season. Crystal River is the defending champion.

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