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Eagles' serves give opponents headaches

East Lake's service game has helped it reach the state semifinals.

By BOB PUTNAM, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 12, 2002

Melissa Roberts and Kelleigh O'Neill take off and hit low rockets that smack the floor.

Carla Taggarelli and Shardae Thorne deliver high floaters that stay in the air forever.

And Chelsea Lazar smashes line drives that whiz above the top of the net.

No matter how East Lake approaches it, the Eagles have found a strategy that serves them well.

Led by their serving game, the Eagles have added another dimension to their offense, one that has helped them advance to the Class 5A state semifinals for the second season in a row.

East Lake plays Friday night at 8:30 at the Lakeland Center. The championship match is Saturday.

"We've stressed being aggressive with our serves and we have a lot of different ways to do that," Eagles coach Terry Small said. "The girls have so many styles and the ball goes in so many directions that it's difficult for a lot of teams to play against."

The East Lake players all have the ability to make the ball do crazy things. Sometimes it dips. Sometimes it dives. Sometimes it just plain spins. That is the beauty of the Eagles' serves.

Opponents, of course, see no beauty in them. Just frustration. Unable to return those serves, the ball often drops to the floor for an ace.

Whenever that happens, the Eagles converge in the middle of the court and yell "Ooooh!"

"We're all consistent with our serves, and when we're on, we're pretty tough," Roberts said. "It's something we definitely work on."

Roberts learned the finer points of jump serving from older brother Dan. The two would hit the ball back and forth at a park. Other teammates developed their styles on club teams.

But it is Small who has helped them perfect it.

During practice, Small makes each of his players serve for two minutes without making a mistake. If a ball hits the net or goes out of bounds, the clock starts over.

"The girls actually have more pressure during the club season when serves always account for points," Small said. "This is just a team-oriented thing that I do to help them concentrate on putting the ball where it needs to go."

The drills have paid off. The Eagles have won their past eight matches in two games and are averaging six aces per match.

"It seems like during the playoffs our serving has really picked up," Roberts said. "We all have completely different ways of serving but variety makes a difference. I think it's really good that we have it."

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