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Volleyball extra

The Super Seven

With last week's ranking in parenthesis

1. East Lake (4): After losing five of eight, the Eagles snapped out of their funk with two-game wins over Clearwater and Lake Gibson.

2. Seminole (2): The Warhawks have won 18 of 19 and get a final test before districts tonight against Countryside.

3. Clearwater (1): Loss to East Lake didn't prevent the Tornadoes from clinching the district's top seed, but it did drop them in the state rankings.

4. Countryside (3): The Cougars drop thanks to East Lake's win over Clearwater. Countryside can vault past the Eagles in the district semifinals next week.

5. Northeast (5): After Wednesday's PCAC match, the Vikings have it easy and should make it to the district final next week.

6. Tarpon Springs (6): The Spongers have one of the better records in the county and the No. 3 seed in their district.

7. Boca Ciega (7): To keep their season going, the Pirates will have to knock off Seminole in the district semifinals.

Five to Watch

1. Chelsea Lazar, East Lake: Taking the place of Nicole Britenriker, Lazar has helped the Eagles get back on track. The junior had seven kills and three blocks against Clearwater and seven kills and two blocks against Lake Gibson.

2. Mary McNicol, East Lake: An Eckerd signee, McNicol had seven kills and two aces against Clearwater and five digs against Lake Gibson.

3. Katie Tittle, Dixie Hollins: The senior had nine kills in a victory over Pinellas Park in the Rebels' final home match.

4. Christine Muskatevc, Palm Harbor U: A captain and the Hurricanes' only senior, Muskatevc has thrived as a defensive specialist and has more digs than an archaeologist, averaging five per game.

5. Alex Trunzo, St. Petersburg: The senior has been the glue for the Green Devils in what has been an up-and-down season.

CCC Takes Bronze

Last weekend's Fort Myers Bishop Verot Invitational was the type of test Clearwater Central Catholic wanted: a tough one.

Three of the four teams the Marauders played were ranked in the state poll.

CCC fared well, going 2-2 to finish third.

"I thought we played really well and had a chance to win the tournament," Marauders coach Mark Foster said.

The two wins came against Sarasota Riverview and Class 3A No. 6 Desoto. Both losses were to ranked teams, including a three-game loss to 5A No. 9 Naples, the tournament champion.

Mindy Szarowicz was the lone Marauder on the all-tournament team. The senior middle hitter had 29 blocks, 48 kills, 24 digs and 3 service aces in four matches.

Berkeley Poirier also played well, compiling 20 kills, 12 digs and 8 aces.

Back in Contention

In losing five of eight matches, East Lake fell out of contention for a berth in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference title match, lost the No. 1 seed in the district and dropped from fourth to eighth in the Class 5A state poll.

The Eagles were on the outside looking in and desperately trying to get out of their slump, a difficult task considering upcoming matches against two ranked teams, Clearwater and Lake Gibson.

Eagles coach Terry Small remained calm. Small had his team work on defensive drills and preached teamwork to his players.

East Lake turned things around with two-game victories over the Class 5A No. 7 Tornadoes and the Class 4A No. 6 Braves. The victories helped the Eagles climb to fifth in the lastest state poll.

"We're starting to gain confidence and playing much more like a team," Small said. "Hopefully, we've put all the losing behind us because we can't afford anymore the rest of the way."

Devil of a Team

At the urging of a few players, Jon Little decided to take the coaching job at St. Petersburg two years ago.

"The season was just a few weeks away and the team didn't have a coach," Little said. "I knew they needed some guidance, so I just decided on a whim to take it and ended up sticking around."

It took a year to adjust, but the Green Devils have shown signs that the move paid off.

Led by the leadership of seniors such as Alex Trunzo and an infusion of young talent such as sophomore Rachael Potthast, St. Petersburg went 9-7 and had the third-best record in the PCAC South division.

"We're definitely showing signs of improvement," Little said.

-- Compiled by Bob Putnam.

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