Flawless East Ridge finally puts away Hudson in thriller
By STEVE LEE
Published November 9, 2003
HUDSON - The last time Hudson made the state final four, there was no Clermont East Ridge.
History, however, did not factor into Saturday's Class 4A region final in which Hudson and second-year East Ridge battled like longtime rivals.
A third trip to the state tournament for Hudson went awry courtesy of a 25-20, 15-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-11 win by the upstart Knights, region quarterfinalists last season.
"I wanted us to be there," Hudson coach Linda McQuade said of returning to states for the first time since 2000. "You saw how close the games were. It was possible."
"We kept up with them," added senior Jessica Borrello, who played on Hudson's last state team. "We thought we were going to go again. Everything seemed so right."
The decisive game featured six ties and near-flawless play by East Ridge, which made only one error.
Allyson Ray twice gave the Cobras leads, a block giving Hudson a 6-5 lead and a kill leading to a 7-6 advantage.
After the last tie at 8, Nonye Checkwa had a block and a kill to put the Knights (29-2) ahead for good. Three ensuing blocks by Stephanie Schmitz, two on Borrello, clinched it for East Ridge.
"I just think these girls really wanted it," East Ridge coach Mary McCann said.
Ray and Amanda Kuerner had 10 kills with Ray adding 14 blocks in the final. Borrello and Sara Prose each added nine kills and Prose had 11 blocks. Rebecca Arico led in digs with 11.
Schmitz had 12 kills and Laura Hart 12 for East Ridge.
Hudson (24-5) defeated Auburndale (19-9) in the semifinal 24-26, 25-15, 25-7, 25-14. That followed East Ridge's 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 win against Winter Haven (8-13).
"When I watched (East Ridge) at two o'clock I told my girls, "It's going to be a tough match. You have to battle,"' McQuade said.
Borrello had 19 kills and eight digs against Auburndale.
Kuerner had 11 kills, Prose nine blocks, Sara Hampshire six digs and Erica Lux chipped in with five blocks and four kills.
5A: Plant eliminates Knights, Mustangs
TRINITY - For Mitchell and River Ridge, it was the same gym and the same story, with the Mustangs and Knights going down one after the other at the hands of a state powerhouse.
A year ago, it was Gainesville doing the eliminating, and Saturday, it was the team that beat Gainesville in last year's state final, two-time defending champion Plant.
The two Pasco rivals saw a Panthers team eager for a third crown, beating Mitchell in four games and needing less than an hour to sweep River Ridge 25-12, 25-19, 25-8 in the final.
"Plant's probably going to win the state championship," said Mitchell coach Joe Dixon, whose team gave the Panthers a scare in the semifinal after River Ridge beat Gaither in four games.
Mitchell (18-10) fought off two game points and had one of its own before Plant (25-3) closed out the first game, and the Mustangs won the third game before Plant prevailed with a 28-26, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17 victory. Plant senior Sarah Kirkwood had 31 kills, while Katelen Dixon led the Mustangs with 19 in her final match.
"I'm really proud of everybody," the outside hitter said. "All we wanted was a great game, and we came out really strong. We've improved tremendously since the last time we played them. We had it in our minds that we could actually win this game."
Kirkwood shined against River Ridge, getting 14 kills and six of her team's 14 aces. Krystal Dennis and Tricia Thomas, who had 16 kills in the win against Gaither, led the Knights against Plant with six and seven kills, respectively.
The Knights (16-7) have reached the region final in each of the last three seasons.
"We didn't play as well as we normally do defensively. ... We were rather lackluster, didn't play with a lot of passion," coach Heidi Castelamare said. "They have a great team and a great tradition, and it's hard to fight that."
- GREG AUMAN
3A: Hernando, Pasco ousted in semis
BROOKSVILLE - Orlando Bishop Moore hung a gold-and-black team banner at one end of the gym Saturday shortly after arriving at Hernando.
Then, the Hornets (14-14) really made themselves at home.
Behind Division I recruit Kristin Allain's 21 kills, Bishop Moore swept Hernando 25-20, 25-14, 25-10 to advance to the final against Orlando Lake Highland Prep.
Lake Highland Prep (23-5) had an even easier time with Pasco, winning 25-6, 25-11, 25-17, and went on to defeat Bishop Moore in the final 25-20, 25-8, 22-25 and 25-20.
Coach Dena Frye said Hernando was hampered by poor passing.
"We had some great blocking going on, we were just not doing basics," Frye said. "Not closing our blocks, and our serve receive, our passes weren't to our setter, which throws your whole offense off."
The loss ended one of the top four seasons in Hernando history. The Leopards went 22-4 and won a playoff match for the first time since the '96 squad advanced to the state semifinals.
"We made it far," Frye said. "Everybody kind of underestimated us, and I think we gave them a game."
Four days after beating Cross City Dixie County for its first playoff victory, Pasco (11-14) was limited to five kills against Lake Highland Prep.
"They were so quick, they had no more than two or three balls dropped," Pasco coach Ramiro Tejada said. "Even when we did get a hit, they just got to the ball. They were just more talented. We were way overmatched."
- FRANK PASTOR
A: Seven Rivers out
At Carrabelle, Seven Rivers Christian fell one match short in its bid to reach the final four.
After defeating host Carrabelle in four games in the semifinal, the Warriors (21-6) were defeated by Ocala St. John Lutheran.
"There were a lot of tears in the locker room," Seven Rivers coach Jamie Richard said. "But we gave a good effort. St. John just played better."
Seven Rivers beat St. John last week in the district final after losing both regular-season meetings. This time, the Warriors lost 25-19, 15-25, 25-15, 25-14. Rachael Capra led Seven Rivers with 10 kills. Kenzie Rowda added eight assists and five kills.
Seven Rivers dropped the opening game against Carrabelle earlier in the day, but responded with a 25-27, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 victory.
Rachel Ebert had 13 kills. Capra added 10 kills and Alice Zeiss had 12 assists and six kills.
"No one really expected us to come as close as we did," Richard said.
