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Highlands Today

Streaks Pummel Pirates

Mark Pinson/Highlands Today

Sebring's Britt Augustine 2 and Hannah Shoop 43 go up for a block against Braden River's Lauren Powell during Tuesday night's Class 4A-District 10 match in the Blue Streak gym.

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By MARK PINSON

Highlands Today

Published: October 9, 2008

SEBRING - Motivated by last week's disappointing loss at Braden River, the Sebring volleyball team bounced back with a vengeance to beat the Pirates by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 25-22 on Tuesday night.

The Class 4A-District 10 win improved the Blue Streaks to 6-4 in district play, while the loss dropped Braden River to 6-3.

"This was a big district win for us," said Sebring junior setter Britt Augustine. "We were embarrassed last week at Braden River with the way we played and we were determined to make up for that tonight.

"We didn't get down on ourselves when we fell behind and we played with lots of intensity and emotion and that's what we've got to do every match if we want to reach our potential."

Sebring fell behind 5-1 in the first game, but stayed focused and worked its way back with excellent passing and strong net play to take a 15-10 lead.

The Pirates refused to fold and pulled within 22-21, but the Blue Streaks, behind strong serving by senior Hannah Shoop, and a spike by Molly Blackman held on for the win.

"This was a huge win for us," said Shoop. "Braden River killed us last week and we wanted revenge because they came out talking a little smack.

"We didn't get down, we picked each other up and played well as a team and that's what we want to do the rest of the season."

Braden River raced out to a 6-0 lead in game two, and though Sebring battled back to make it close, the Pirates, led by senior outside hitter Sarah Tickner's team-high 15 kills, closed out the win.

The third game was close throughout, with many of the points being long rallies, but Sebring took control at 17-14.

Braden River, which got eight kills and six blocks by Lauren Powell tied the score at 18, but Shoop, who had seven kills and three blocks, reeled off four consecutive points for a 22-18 advantage.

A spike by Blackman, a Pirate error and cross court kill shot by Anna West gave the Blue Streaks the hard-fought win.

"We served and received serve well tonight and that was the difference in the match," said veteran Sebring coach Venessa Sinness. "Our defense did a good job of digging out shots because Braden River has some big hitters.

"We had a breakdown in the second game, but other than that, we played with intensity and focus and that's the kind of effort we need to bring to the court every night."

Braden River came out strong in the final game, as Powel and Tickner took turns finding holes in the Blue Streak defense to take a 14-9 lead.

After a time out, Sebring responded with a seven-point run behind good serving from Jaye Whitehead, solid net play from Karly Freeland, who had 10 kills, and excellent sets from Augustine, who finished with a game-high 25 assists.

Braden River made one last run behind Tickner's potent blasts to pull within 22-21.

But Tickner served into the net, Freeland unleashed a kill shot and a West spike sealed the emotional win for the Blue Streaks.

"Our passes were on and we communicated well as a team," said Augustine. "We really wanted to win that last game because we didn't want to go to a fifth-game rally against a fired up Braden River team."

Sebring is looking forward to the Class 4A-District 10 tournament, which is in three weeks and will be at Braden River.

"We're starting to come together and gel as a team," said Sinness. "The talent is there, but we can't come out complacent and expect to win in a very competitive district if we don't play with emotion.

"We know its not going to be easy at the district tournament, but if we stay focused and play with confidence, we have a chance to beat any team."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com.

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