A young East Lake team lacking its usual stars meets a Northeast squad looking for its first playoff win tonight.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published October 28, 2004
[Times photo: Douglas Clifford]
Lauren Hill, center, smacking a kill in a district win over Palm Harbor, is a key leader on the court for East Lake.
After an especially impressive point against Palm Harbor University last week, Lauren Hill could only laugh as Michelle Ferguson grinned widely. Another point produced a double high five between the teammates. Yet another produced a hug as each player reached to pull a teammate into the embrace.
At this point, East Lake was rolling.
Right into the playoffs, where the Eagles meet Northeast tonight at 7.
For the up-and-down Eagles, Hill and Ferguson will be critical keys if East Lake is to move to the regional semifinals a fourth consecutive season.
"We like to be the leaders out there; I think we work pretty well together," Hill said. "We fire each other up."
Terry Small hopes he won't have to find out if only one of his standouts is enough to get past the Vikings. Hill missed last week's district final against Clearwater with a bad back. She hurt it before her outstanding performance against the Hurricanes, but could barely walk the next day.
She watched from the bench as the Eagles were swamped by the Tornadoes.
"My back is feeling better," Hill said. "I think I'll be playing."
Small said if he needs to, he'll make Hill his libero, which will reduce her role from primary hitter - lessening the impact jumping and landing will have on her back - to passing and defense. It's a tough tradeoff to make, but having Hill on the court would give East Lake a big boost, and her all-around game would enhance the Eagles' chances at victory.
"She's been huge for us," Small said. "She has been such a clutch player for us, and her energy gets the girls fired up. She's our motivation right now."
Northeast has all the motivation it needs - the Vikings have never won a playoff game.
The past three years, the Vikings have made the district final, only to lose to Countryside, East Lake and Clearwater in the first round of regionals.
At the beginning of this season, outside hitter Jessie Bowman wondered if they would even return to the postseason after graduating key seniors and all-county picks Shannon Sterner and Bonni Carney.
"When I looked around, all I saw was new faces and young players," said Bowman, a senior. "At the beginning, I didn't think we would make it. This year, this is totally unexpected."
The Vikings, after a 5-5 start, managed to run off 13 wins in their past 14 matches. They didn't drop a game in winning three district tournament games. And they swept Seminole in the final to avenge an earlier loss.
They will try to do the same tonight. This will be the Vikings' second meeting with East Lake, the first coming early in the season when Northeast was stumbling.
But in that match, the Vikings held a 2-1 games lead before the Eagles rallied.
In the last game, Northeast was ahead 14-13 when an illegal back row attack was called on East Lake. As the Vikings celebrated arguably the biggest victory in their program's history, the referees convened and determined that call was incorrect. The point was replayed, and East Lake came back to win 16-14.
The East Lake team is not the powerhouse it has been in the past. It is younger, smaller, less talented and greener. For those reasons, winning the district and geting a chance to play the Eagles - and not Clearwater - was paramount to both Northeast and Seminole.
Vikings coach Sean O'Flannery stopped short of saying the Eagles were finally beatable - "Let's just say it will be a very good matchup" - but Class 5A, District 9's dominance over 5A-10 is no secret. Northeast and Seminole have held the 5A-10 playoff spot the past three years, but are 0-6 against the 5A-9 representative.
Clearwater remains a state power. But the young East Lake team is not.
"That's fair," said Small, who is 8-3 in the postseason with one state runner-up finish. "It's definitely a better matchup than it's been. I can see why they might think they have the upper hand this year."
While Northeast is looking to finally break through, East Lake is hoping for the status quo. Hill takes a lot of pride in being an Eagle volleyball player and knows a lot is at stake for both teams.
"We may not have the talent we've had in the past," she said, "but we want to keep our reputation."
