Terriers taken out in sweep

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published October 27, 2005

Serving for the final point in game two, Clearwater's Eileen Case looked over to coach Tracey Sedely, who wasn't flashing where she wanted her outside hitter to serve.

"Where?," Case asked.

"Anywhere," replied Sedely.

It was that kind of game for Hillsborough, which had a miserable time handling Clearwater's serves no matter where they went.

The end result was a 25-11, 25-6, 25-13 loss to the Tornadoes Wednesday night.

"We really had no idea what to expect," outside hitter Megan Kelly said. "They definitely had a cohesive team and a setter who knew where to place the ball."

Hillsborough had trouble even passing the ball to its setter, and the few times it did there were few sets to Kelly, the Terriers top hitter.

When the Terriers were able to get Kelly the ball, they played their best. The junior had no trouble banging the ball through the Clearwater defense in the final game, getting three kills and drawing Hillsborough within 14-10.

But once Clearwater regained the serve, the Terriers were handcuffed. The Tornadoes scored eight straight points, five on aces, and closed out the match.

For the match, Clearwater had 20 aces.

Kelly had two kills in the first two games but was rarely set.

If not for service errors by the Tornadoes and a few moments of malaise brought on by the lopsided score, the final scores could have been uglier. As it was, the Tornadoes were never headed once Channing and Kelsey Salava heated up.

In the second game, leading 12-5, Channing served 11 straight points with six aces while Kelsey had three straight kills (four including the sideout point that brought the serve to Clearwater).

In the third game, Kelsey served five aces in a seven-serve span after Hillsborough closed within 14-10.

The Salava sisters were complemented by Kristin Fisher (11 kills) and Eileen Case (six kills).

The Tornadoes (18-2) advance to Saturday's semifinals, where they will host Bradenton Manatee at 2 p.m.

Hillsborough finishes 12-8.

[Last modified October 27, 2005, 01:29:09]