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The young Mustangs top Shorecrest in three games for a district victory.
By BOB PUTNAM, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- In her first year as coach, Northside Christian's Holly Filer has had to steer five sophomore starters through their transition into varsity volleyball.
The task has not been easy. With so many underclassmen, consistency and wins have been hard to achieve.
But even though the team is going through a growing period with players who have yet to make onto the county radar screen, Filer at least knows what she has with these girls: a future.
The Mustangs started showing some of their promise Tuesday night with a 15-9, 11-15, 15-1 victory over district rival Shorecrest.
"We've got a lot of young talent," Filer said. "We're trying to get them to focus on a higher level and go in a specific direction."
In the first game, the Mustangs (5-7) held on to a 10-9 lead and scored the final five points to win.
Northside was in a similar situation in the second game. Again, the Mustangs led 10-9 but they couldn't hold on. Shorecrest, behind the hitting of Carrie Curtis and the serving of Lauren Sterensis, went on a 6-1 run to close out the game and tie the match.
In the deciding game, it was all Northside. Sarah Sloan and Carrie Bariteau each had a pair of kills to highlight a 12-0 run.
"Everything came together for us in the third game," Filer said.
Meanwhile, the Chargers are trying to get ahead of the curve.
"We're still adjusting," said Shorecrest coach Jim Overton, who took over the program from longtime coach Kathy Sessions. "We need to learn how to pick up the intensity. That's one of the biggest things I've had to deal with.
"You could just see in their body language that they weren't ready for the third game."