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Spirited Sebring 'Sticks It' To Booker

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Sebring's Abigail Bone hits a shot from the backrow during Tuesday's sweep of Booker.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: September 18, 2008

SEBRING - The Sebring volleyball team didn't need much motivation in dispatching Booker in three games (25-8, 25-14, and 25-17) in a Class 4A-District 10 match-up on Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean Sebring coach Venessa Sinness isn't pulling out all the stops to keep her team inspired.

The latest motivation tactic Sinness has implemented has been the use of stickers to reward individual and team goals for each game.

In football, some teams use stickers on the player's helmet to signify a good tackle or key play, and Sinness has taken that gridiron tradition and molded to net.

"I felt we needed something to keep us focused on one goal," said the SHS head coach. "The girls get stickers for good plays on offense and on defense, as well as team stickers.

"I've tried to get the girls to focus more on the team goals, since those attributes are going to be the difference between winning and lose in the playoffs."

The girls will get stickers for offensive good play if they record five kills or they record 12 assists in a game, while the defensive goals include stickers for five blocks in a game.

The team goals change every game, but against Booker, the Streaks were told they'd receive a team sticker if they held the Tornadoes under 10 points and two stickers if they held them under five points, while trying to achieve a 95 serve percentage for the game.

Sebring sophomore Anna West was proud of the Streaks play in the first game, while attaining a team sticker for holding the visitors to just eight points.

"We came out really aggressive in the first game and communicated really well," West said. "But we didn't keep that intensity throughout the match. It's just hard when you know you can beat this team even on their best day."

Sebring's Britt Augustine was dead-on with her power serve, as she hit five aces in the game, including a run of three-in-a-row during the first game.

Booker didn't just lay down for Sebring, as they kept the second game close in the early going, but with the score tied at 10, the Streaks flexed their muscles and slammed the door shut on the Tornadoes with a game-ending 15-4 run.

"Booker really gave us problems in the last two games," West said. "They don't use the normal bump-set-spike play like most teams, but they hit the ball over on the first or second touch and that caught us off-guard."

Sinness feels that playing a team with an unorthodox style such as the Tornadoes displayed helped the Streaks.

"It makes us a scrappier team," Sinness said. "I liked that we didn't play down to Booker in the first game. We kept up the pressure and played our game, but what I didn't like is our lack of communication. It doesn't matter if we are better than another team, we still need to communicate and not get sloppy.

"Those little things can turn into habits real easy and come back and haunt you later in the season."

Sebring raced out to a 14-7 lead in the third game before easing off a bit and Booker seemed to be gaining confidence in the later stages of the match, but the Streaks matched every run that the Tornadoes made for the sweep.

The Streaks have been pretty good about spreading the wealth on offense, as seniors Molly Blackman and Hannah Shoop each had three kills, while West and Karley Freeland had two kills each, with West adding four blocks on the night - one shy of getting an individual sticker.

Still leaning on their conditioning plan, the Streaks hardly broke a sweat.

"We work harder during practice than in this game," said Shoop. "There was no danger in us losing this game, but Coach Venessa Sinness kept trying to keep us motivated."

"I came close," West laughed. "It's just really good to get the win and now we can come back to practice and get ready for the next game."

Sebring travels to face Hardee on Thursday before competing in the two-day Bartow Invitational beginning Friday.

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

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