Title makes for quick turnaround

Amid talk of a rebuilding year due to a core group of young players, the East Lake volleyball team wins the under-16 title at the Sunshine State Games.

By BOB PUTNAM

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 18, 2000

East Lake volleyball coach Terry Small said he figured this would be a rebuilding year. He lost five seniors to graduation from last year's team that earned the No. 1 seed in the district tournament and beat rival Clearwater for the first time in school history.

The rebuilding, though, might not take that long.

Playing together for the first time since last season, the Eagles won the 16-and-under division at the Sunshine State Games in Gainesville two weeks ago.

"For a rebuilding year, this is starting off pretty good," Small said.

Small said he entered his team not to win a title, but to get playing time. East Lake's roster included three juniors (Tiffany Coleman, Kelly Millard and Ashley Zarle), three sophomores (Kelleigh O'Neill, Carla Tagarelli and Lauren Neel) and two incoming freshmen (Chelsea Lazar and Nicole Britenriker).

"I really didn't know what to expect," Small said. "But I did think we had a chance to do really well. Even though the team is young and hasn't played together, they all are experienced and have played a lot of club competition."

One of the most experienced players is Britenriker, one of 32 players selected to participate at a high performance volleyball camp in Utah next week.

Britenriker and the rest of the team dominated the four-team field. The Eagles went undefeated, beating Clearwater Central Catholic, Clay and Starke Bradford.

"It was exciting," O'Neill said. "We actually did better than I thought we'd do. Everybody played outstanding and we beat some really good teams."

Besides beating tough teams, the East Lake players also had to beat the heat. Playing at Gainesville Eastside High, the Eagles competed for eight hours in a gymnasium with no air conditioning.

"We were dying," O'Neill said. "It was so hot."

During timeouts, the team huddled around a fan to cool off.

"It was nice to see the team battle through that because it was rough there," Small said.

And by battling adverse conditions and beating teams such as Clearwater Central Catholic and Starke Bradford, which both made the state high school playoffs last season, Small said he believes the team now has confidence heading into the season.

"This was a big step for us," Small said. "The girls now know they can go out on the court and compete."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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