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Green Dragons prepare to take next step

Highlands Today file photo by Ryan Lavner

Lake Placid's Marissa Baldwin and the rest of the Green Dragons captured a fifth consecutive district title last week. Now comes the hard part: They will look to advance past the quarterfinal round of the region tournament when they host Clearwater Central Catholic at 7 p.m. tonight.

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Highlands Today Staff Report

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2009

LAKE PLACID - The Lake Placid volleyball team still has business to attend to, even if alterations are currently being made on the championship banners that hang from the rafters in the Green Dragons gym.

Lake Placid swept McKeel Academy in three sets last Thursday to win its fifth consecutive district title.

Now comes the hard part: Winning a regional match. Lake Placid hosts Clearwater Central Catholic at 7 p.m. tonight in the quarterfinals.

"We'll just have to see what happens," Green Dragons coach Marilyn Jones said. "They're going to give it their best shot and I know those four seniors, in particular, don't want it to be their last game, and I don't want it to be their last game. I want them to do something that no other team has been able to do and that's go into regionals a little bit."

Despite a 12-13 record during the regular season, Clearwater Central Catholic will pose a tough test for the Green Dragons, Jones said.

"They've played some pretty tough teams," she said. "They weren't very successful with some of those bigger schools, but at least they played them."

Lake Placid, on the other hand, breezed through its district competition, finishing 12-0 in the regular season and then winning all six sets in the district tournament en route to claiming the title for the fifth straight year.

Jones attended Lake Placid's football game at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field on Friday night, when she was greeted by fans and parents who were very complimentary of her work with the Green Dragons this season. She heard the same thing at church the next day, too.

"A lot of people in town are very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish this year," she said.

But there is still much work to be done, Jones said, and that starts primarily with the Green Dragons defense, which will need to be "quicker on our feet and recover from blocked balls, getting back into our defense set. We're a little slow on that right now," she said.

Jones added that Lake Placid also needs to be more consistent with its serves and passes, which, in turn, makes the job of the setter that much easier.

Against Sebring two weeks ago, the Green Dragons put their serves in play 93 percent of the time. They were far less accurate in the district tournament, although Jones noted that they did a better job in the finals against McKeel Academy.

"We need to make sure that we're not just giving them points, because half a handful of points is too many," she said.

The possibility remains, though, that this could be Jones' final match on the Green Dragons sideline. She is planning to retire at the end of the year.

"I don't want to think about that other thing, because I may get a little teary-eyed," she said, before adding: "But then I think about retirement and I get that big grin on my face again."

The Highlands Today sports staff can be reached at 863-386-5837 or sports@highlandstoday.com

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