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Clearwater caps off perfect home record

CLEARWATER -- The Clearwater Tornadoes have done some pretty impressive things this season.

They beat Class 2A defending state champion Tampa Prep, knocked off Class 5A state semifinalist East Lake and vaulted to the top of the Times Super Seven and to No. 3 in the 5A state rankings.

On Tuesday, they met another goal, finishing the season unbeaten at home with a 15-4, 17-15 win over district rival Countryside.

"We've had a bit of a streak at home and that was the motivator tonight," said Tornadoes coach Lynn Hallmark, whose team went 8-0 at Jack Wilson Memorial Gymnasium. "We wanted to protect that homecourt advantage. We knew it would be tough to do because Countryside is an outstanding team."

Clearwater (16-3) started strong thanks to the serving of senior Pam Berndt. Using a jump on her delivery, Berndt served the first five points for the Tornadoes. The lead held up as Darryl Baby also served well and Nikki Morzenti controlled the net.

In the second game, the Cougars (14-5) played better once Beverly Stasis got into the swing of things. Unable to lift her arm earlier in the morning due to an injury, Stasis recovered in time to help the Cougars take a 14-10 lead.

Relying on its defensive play, Clearwater held off several game points to rally for the win.

"We played outstanding defensively and it was good to see us make a comeback like that at the end," Hallmark said.

For Countryside, it was a tough way to start the week after going 4-1 as runner-up at a tournament in Sarasota.

"We just weren't clicking and couldn't put the second game away," Cougars coach Kaylyn Bayly said. "We were a little tired up and we let some things distract us.

"I think we're getting better, but we need to do the simple things in order to win. Right now, I'm just trying to find six girls who are going to put forth the same effort to win each day."

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