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Cobras ravaged by Tornadoes in bid for title
By JOHN C. COTEY © St. Petersburg Times, published November 13, 2000 LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Nikki Prack stared down at the medal hanging around her neck, and forced a smile. "I've never won a medal playing volleyball before," she said. But the senior's reddened face and bloodshot eyes made it quite clear: The medal was the wrong color. Silver. Prack and her Hudson volleyball team fell short of becoming Pasco County's first state volleyball champions, falling to Clearwater 15-12, 15-6 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista on Saturday morning. While the journey will one day be appreciated, the final destination was a source of disappointment for the Cobras, who made it further than any other Pasco team ever had and finished with a 26-5 record. The team played one of its worst matches of the season and ran into a Clearwater team that played one of its best. The Tornadoes looked mortal in winning against Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in Thursday's semifinals, but Saturday played almost flawlessly. "They looked better today," Prack said. Hudson scored the first three points in the match, and Clearwater scored the next seven, eventually building a 13-7 lead. Between Jenny Hobbs' serving and one of Alison Baker's 11 blocks, the Cobras stirred their loyal and loud following with a five-point run that made it 13-12. But the Cobras' usually reliable server receive game was non-existent, and Clearwater scored on a Hudson error for game point, and then tournament MVP Emily McDaniel put away the final kill. In the second game, Hudson led at 4-3, but Clearwater dominated the rest of the way. It scored the final seven points of the match as McDaniel ripped kill after kill and Hudson struggled with its passing. "They weren't doing anything special; we just weren't getting to the ball," said Baker, the team's star. "We weren't moving our feet. We were just flopping around out there." Said coach Linda McQuade: "They did a great job. They ran their attack and took charge of the court. It was very hard for us to run our attack, and it left us off balance. "We couldn't get our momentum going." The Tornadoes had a decided edge in experience. While both teams had the same number of seniors, the Tornadoes boasted two that had been starters when it won the Class 5A state title in 1997 and when it was a 4A semifinalist last year. None of the current Cobras hadplayed any role in 1997 when Hudson made its only previous trip to the final four. "We have a lot of young players who were new to this," Prack said. "You could tell we weren't completely focused. We couldn't get everybody into it and never seemed to catch on." The loss to Clearwater was the final match for seniors Baker, Prack, Jen Hobbs, Kelly Qualtiere, Kathleen Cook and Sara Swing. The six have been a part of the most successful run of any volleyball team in Pasco history and helped account for more than 100 victories. McQuade hopes her younger players, notably hitters Tarah Marinelli, Jackie Law, Lauren Bislick and setter Kelly Aguis can carry on the impressive tradition. "Well, I was just glad we had the opportunity to get to the final," she said. "It kind of gave our team a future for next year. Each time at Hudson High it's one step at a time. This group of seniors got us to the finals; maybe next year we'll take the finals."
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