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Tornadoes grind out win vs. Eagles

CLEARWATER -- After enduring the first losing season in school history and failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994, Clearwater hoped to return to glory this season.

The Tornadoes showed signs of wriggling back to life with victories against Class 5A region finalist Gainesville Buchholz and Class 2A defending state champion Tampa Prep.

Those wins helped Clearwater move up to No. 5 in the 5A state poll. But the Tornadoes knew in order to grab the local spotlight it had to supplant the county's best.

It happened Tuesday night.

Clearwater restored its luster with a 15-8, 4-15, 15-10 victory against visiting East Lake, a team that was a state final four participant in 2001 and is ranked one spot ahead of the Tornadoes in the state poll.

"We feel like we're recognized state-wide just because we've been a strong program for so long," Clearwater coach Lynn Hallmark said. "But we don't feel like we've gotten the same kind of respect in the county. In order to get that, you have to go out and prove it and I think we're starting to do that."

Trailing 6-1 in the first game, Clearwater (14-3) came back behind an attack that wasn't just a solo act.

Instead of relying on Nikki Morzenti for points, the Tornadoes got contributions from others. Freshman Kelsey Salava started the rally with a kill for sideout and it continued as Allison Stanley and Daryl Baby each served two aces. Clearwater wound up scoring 14 of the final 16 points in the game to win.

"Everyone thinks that we just have Nikki, but we've surrounded her with a lot of talent," Hallmark said. "The other players stepped up, especially the freshmen. We start three freshmen (Salava, Sloane Baby and Eileen Case) and they all came to play in a match this big."

The Eagles (12-2) responded by winning the second game in dominating fashion. Kelleigh O'Neill started and ended the game with aces.

Carrying the momentum into the third game, East Lake went ahead 3-0. That's when the Tornadoes adjusted to their rivals and beat them back. Stanley had a kill for sideout, then added three more for points to start Clearwater on an 14-2 run.

The Eagles had a brief rally as Chelsea Lazar tapped three balls over for points and Melissa Roberts and Shardae Thorn each added kills to make it 14-10.

But with match point, the Tornadoes' Pam Berndt served an ace to end it.

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