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VOLLEYBALL: Green Dragons Oust Tigers

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Lake Placid head coach Marilyn Jones, center, has unified the Green Dragons volleyball team and is ready for another run at a fourth straight Class 3A-District 10 title.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: October 22, 2008

LAKE PLACID - It's never too early to be thinking about the playoffs, and Lake Placid volleyball coach Marilyn Jones is using this week to get her girls in the right frame of mind as the postseason approaches.

"I scheduled these games so close to districts to get the girls in game shape and focused on going out and defending our title," Jones said. "This keeps the girls sharp."

On Monday, Clewiston found out firsthand. The Lake Placid volleyball team had nearly everything working for them in a three-game sweep (25-9, 25-14, and 25-18) in front of the home fans.

The Green Dragons made winning look pedestrian, as they passed well and hit with authority, while playing stifling defense at the net in blazing out to a 15-4 lead to show the Tigers they were no match for the defending Class 3A-District 10 champions.

As a team, Lake Placid racked up 18 aces and Tiffany Bisbey led the way with seven kills against Clewiston, who caught the Green Dragons napping in the final two games - games that weren't as close as the final scores would indicate.

But Jones doesn't take much stock in Monday's contest; instead she's looking forward to seeing how her Green Dragons fair against tough match-ups against LaBelle and Avon Park.

"Those teams are no slouches," Jones said. "LaBelle played us tough in the preseason classic and Avon Park is always a tough draw. We're going to have to be at the top of our game if we're going to come out on top and that's just what we need heading into next week."

Lake Placid traveled to LaBelle on Tuesday and will host Avon Park on Thursday.

With the district tournament looming and Lake Placid going after its fourth straight title, the team is poised.

"We're going to go into the tournament very confident," said Lake Placid's Ali Baker. "We know that we're going to get every team's best game and we have to be ready to defend what's ours."

The toughest match-up for Lake Placid at districts will come from Mulberry, who has been a much-improved and tough opponent for the Green Dragons this season, with both matches going to four games.

"Mulberry surprised us this year with how good they were," said LP senior Kaneisha Hamilton. "But we were also coming off a five-set match against Sebring, so in our defense, we were a bit fatigued.

"We're a stronger club now and things will be different if we meet them again in districts. They'll get 100 percent of our attention."

Jones knows the risks of not having her girls focused or going into the tournament overconfident, as she's seen firsthand what happens when you count on an easy victory and forget to go out and play the game.

"Any team in our district can beat us on any given night," Jones said. "I don't want to be that team that walked into a game overflowing with confidence only to walk out with a loss and an early end to the season.

"We haven't played very well over in Mulberry, and we were hard-pressed to come through with wins against them this season. It seems we always have a cloud over our heads in Mulberry, so I want this team to click from day one."

"We sometimes can be our own worst enemy," Baker added. "But we just have to overcome any outside distractions and play sharp. We've got to do what it takes to bring home another title."

The Class 3A-District 10 tournament begins on Tuesday, with Lake Placid's opponent still to be determined.

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or at choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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