Same old outcome for Warriors

Familiar foe St. John Lutheran takes out Seven Rivers Christian in three games.

By RICHARD BURTON
Published November 3, 2006

OCALA - A familiar roadblock got in the way of Seven Rivers Christian's quest to reach the state final four.

For the third time in four years, the Warriors fell in a region final to Ocala St. John Lutheran.

St. John advanced to the state semifinals with a 25-12, 25-10, 25-19 triumph for its 12th consecutive victory over Seven Rivers and 14th in the past 15 meetings between the schools over the past four years.

"We had a good year," Warriors coach Tim Bowman said. "Tonight doesn't sum up our whole year.

"We didn't play very well ...not to take anything away from St. John and I really hope they go on to win the state title."

Seven Rivers (23-7), ranked ninth in Class A, saw St. John hold a 40-7 edge in kills and 57-6 advantage in assists.

"We could never put it together," Bowman said. "We had little streaks where we looked good, but we just didn't have enough."

The Saints, ranked second in Class A, were led by Florida State commitment Lauren Richardson.

The 6-foot-1 senior racked up 18 assists and 11 kills and dominated the match.

Seven Rivers struggled all night and fell behind 19-9 in Game 1 and never recovered.

St. John (27-2) built an 11-0 lead in Game 2 and led by as many as 19 points while cruising.

The Warriors, though, did gain a little momentum and made Game 3 interesting.

Rachael Capra keyed a 6-1 run with a kill and Seven Rivers built an early 8-3 lead, but the Saints responded with a 17-5 run and put the match away.

Capra led the Warriors with four kills and three blocks. Carolyn Allen contributed four assists.

"We set goals this season of winning 20 games and we knew that we could reach the final eight," Bowman said. "I am proud of these girls.

"There were only eight teams in our class playing volleyball tonight and we were one of them."

[Last modified November 3, 2006, 02:28:54]