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Rare loss makes impact on Cobras

Hudson has snapped back to attention after Land O'Lakes handing it its only loss of the season.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published October 6, 2005

HUDSON - Coach Linda McQuade shook up her lineup about six matches ago to solidify its hitting. Though the moves paid immediate dividends, nothing lit a fire under the Cobras like an unexpected loss to Land O'Lakes.

Hudson (13-1) bounced back from its three-game loss to the Gators on Sept.19 with victories over Springstead and Zephyrhills and rose two spots to No. 5 in Class 4A in the latest Florida Sports Writers Association poll.

"I think they learned a lesson at that point," McQuade said. "They took a lump.

"Now they realize that they can do better than that. Then they came right back, and we've been pretty successful playing the two games after that."

McQuade said her team, which has been ranked the past three weeks, became overconfident before the Land O'Lakes match. The Cobras have been more humble, team-oriented and better communicators in their past two matches.

While libero Sara Hampshire, setter Mary Cook and hitter Lara Metz continue their steady play, a change up front helped improve Hudson's hitting.

Chrissy Guilliams was moved from leftside to middle hitter, where she brought more height. Kelly Bislick moved to the right side, and Paige Lake replaced Guilliams on the left.

"Kelly is very fluid at right because she played that the last two years," McQuade said. "So she's doing a really good job picking up the pace there. "Chrissy has become like a blocking specialist, and Paige seems to be pretty comfortable on the left side at this point."

With a 12-0 mark entering Wednesday night's match against Wesley Chapel and contests remaining against Hernando and Gulf, Hudson appears to have the top seed locked up for the Class 4A, District 8 tournament.

The Sunshine Athletic Conference title likely will be decided when Hudson plays at River Ridge on Oct.13.

Because Ridgewood defeated Mitchell, Mitchell beat River Ridge and Land O'Lakes upset Hudson, a Cobras win could create a three-way tie for first among Hudson, River Ridge and Mitchell.

IN THE HUNT: Don't be fooled by Gulf's 1-5 conference record or 7-8 overall mark entering Tuesday night's match against South Sumter. The Bucs (7-5 district) are in the thick of the Class 4A, District 8 race, having swept Pasco and Springstead, defeated South Sumter and split with Zephyrhills and Hernando. Gulf lost twice to Nature Coast Tech and once to Hudson.

"If we can find some consistency, I think we can hang in there with just about anybody," coach Shari Schau said.

A serving percentage that slipped from the 90s into the low 80s, hitting errors and an absence of blocking helped explain why Gulf followed a three-match winning streak with losses to Hernando, Land O'Lakes and Nature Coast Tech last week.

Schau will look to a lineup of veterans including Santana Lennon (112 kills) and Amanda Gardner (165 digs, 64 kills) and newcomers such as Nicole Balaban and Shelby Flint (40 blocks, 42 kills) to turn things around in the few weeks before the district tournament.

EARLY LOOK: Ridgewood defeated Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel and Pasco last week, but a four-game loss to Central might have been most significant.

At 4-4 in Class 5A, District 7, the third-place Rams (12-7 overall) likely will face second-place Central in the first round of the district tournament, which begins Oct.18.

"Our passing wasn't there," Ridgewood coach Amber Starkey said.

"We'll definitely have to have good passing because they're a good offensive team, and they have some strong servers as well. So passing is going to be a key."

UPCOMING: Mitchell and River Ridge play in the Bishop Moore tournament on Friday and Saturday. Hudson competes in the Lakeland tournament Oct.14-15, and Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Pasco will take part in the Lake Gibson tournament Oct. 14-15.

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 01:14:18]