It has been 25 years since the Vikings have won the PCAC championship, but they get another shot tonight.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published October 13, 2004
Northeast volleyball coach Sean O'Flannery was rummaging through the school's trophy case when he stumbled upon something truly rare. He brushed off the dust, as if he'd just discovered a magic lamp. In his hands, a true collector's item.
A Pinellas County Athletic Conference volleyball championship trophy. ... with a south county team's name on it!
"It said 1979 on it," O'Flannery said, "and there were just 11 schools. But hey, it said Northeast on it."
It has been a long 25 years since. Shortly after Northeast won that crown, the balance of power in volleyball shifted. For good, apparently.
Tonight at 7 at Clearwater, Northeast will try to do the improbable and bring the PCAC title south. For that to happen, it will require a victory over the heavily favored Tornadoes, who seek their 20th PCAC title.
Despite losing seven seniors off last year's squad, this will be Northeast's fourth straight trip to the final, the most since the Tornadoes played in the title game from 1995-1999.
But Clearwater won all of those years. Northeast hasn't managed to steal even a game from Clearwater or East Lake (2001) in losing the last three.
"I just have to convince them that we're just going into another match, against just another team, not some powerhouse," O'Flannery said. "We have to treat them the way other teams treat us in the south county."
Northeast has ruled the south county since 2001. O'Flannery's squad hasn't lost, and he says the Vikings haven't dropped so much as a game.
But ruling the south is not the same as doing so in the north, O'Flannery admits.
"You just got to be able to get over that mountain," he said.
That could happen because his team is healthy, eager and on a roll, not having lost since a tournament in Orlando in the opening weeks.
It will take a perfect performance, though.
"Clearwater is a team that will make you pay for your errors," O'Flannery said. "We gave them a lot of errors last year. We can't do that (today)."
In the past, how seriously the south county participant has taken the PCAC title match has been open for debate. What is not, however, is how seriously the Tornadoes take it.
After beating Palm Harbor University and East Lake on consecutive nights last week, the Clearwater players and coach Lynn Hallmark spoke openly about the importance of adding another title to the program's storied history.
Since the PCAC adopted the North-South championship format (as opposed to best regular season record) in 1995, Clearwater has won seven of nine titles and, more impressive, won 15 of 16 games.
"The PCAC is a huge reward for us," Hallmark said. "We take great pride in making it there. We think winning a conference championship is something special."
And for some, pretty rare.
Volleyball
TONIGHT: PCAC Championship.
WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. at Clearwater High.
THE SKINNY: Northeast will need a monumental upset to deny the host Tornadoes their 20th conference championship.
