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Hudson picks up hardware

The Cobras prove they're still dangerous by winning the district title.

By JAMAL THALJI

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 26, 2001

TRINITY -- At what point did the clock turn back to yesteryear? When did Hudson start to play fierce backcourt defense like that 1997 final four team? Or fight with the will of that 2000 state runner-up team? When did the Cobras finally start matching their foe volley for volley, serve for serve, nerve for nerve?

Thursday night, to be exact.

The mystique is back.

Hudson is back.

"I'm holding a big trophy," Cobras coach Linda McQuade said. "Does that count?"

Top-seeded River Ridge was upset by archrival and No. 2 seed Hudson 15-9, 10-15, 15-9 in a thrilling Class 4A, District 8 final at Mitchell.

The Cobras won their fourth-consecutive district title, but this one was McQuade's most satisfying -- and unexpected.

"The kids really lacked a lot of confidence when they were losing at the beginning of the season," McQuade said, "and we tried to motivate them, told them to keep working, keep working, and finally it just paid off."

It was a battle of two Pasco County powers that the Royal Knights had easily won beforehand, sweeping both matches in the first two meetings.

But two different teams met Thursday. Though River Ridge entered with the county's best record (26-4), top hitter Ali Bigger was still out with a broken bone in her left foot.

Hudson (20-9) started the season as a raw 0-3 squad, lacking the mental toughness, experience and aura of the championship teams of the past. But after starting on the learning curve in Tuesday's semifinal win, the Cobras graduated summa cum laude in Thursday's upset.

"They were scrappier than we were," Royal Knights coach Heidi Castelamare said. "We didn't get enough digs off the floor. We had some good defense, but we felt like a lot of balls hit the ground that shouldn't have."

Hudson jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first game, and River Ridge closed the gap to 6-7 before falling behind for good.

River Ridge slowly climbed back into it in the second game, pulling ahead 13-4 on Dawn Conner's kill. But Jacilyn Law's three kills brought the Cobras right back, cutting the lead to 14-10. A Hudson error ended it.

The Royal Knights jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third game with a Rachel Osterholt kill. Hudson took a timeout, and then ...

"We were up and we were doing really good," Castelamare said, "and then it went 5-5 and I could feel the momentum going."

Jessica Borrello's ace tied it for Hudson, and River Ridge would never retake the lead. The Cobras kept their side of the floor clean of any hits, and a Borrello kill and a Knights error bumped the lead up to 13-8.

And there the lead stayed as both teams fought through 10 serves.

Tarah Marinelli put it away for the Cobras, atoning for an error that made it 13-9. She slammed a kill to make it 14-9 and served the winning point as the Knights botched the return.

Marinelli led Hudson with 15 kills, and Dawn Conner had seven for River Ridge.

"We wanted this so bad," Marinelli said. "River Ridge has always been our rival. To come here and show them that we can contend with them, to prove ourselves; it was so awesome. I'm just proud of every one of my teammates about what we've accomplished."

Hudson will host 4A-7 runner-up Lecanto in Tuesday's opening round of the regional playoffs, while River Ridge travels to 4A-7 champion Central. The Cobras and Royal Knights could yet meet again in the regional semifinals.

"We'll have Ali next time," Castelamare said.

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