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Dragon slayers

Ryan Lavner, Highlands Today

The Sebring Blue Streaks celebrate their dramatic four-set victory over county rival Lake Placid on Tuesday night in the Blue Streaks gym. Sebring will compete in the Class 5A-District 5 tournament starting Monday against Lake Wales in Haines City.

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By RYAN LAVNER

Highlands Today

Published: October 22, 2009

SEBRING - They crammed into the Blue Streaks gym until it was standing-room-only on one side. They launched freebies - shirts, foam balls, assorted goodies - into the crowd after every Sebring point, which came with great frequency.

An hour later, the party spilled onto the court.

In the ultimate tune-up for the district tournament, Sebring stormed to an early lead and held on late for a 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22 victory over county rival Lake Placid on an emotional Tuesday night.

"It still hasn't really sunk in yet," Karley Freeland, one of the Blue Streaks' four seniors, said afterward.

Lake Placid, which for two straight years has pushed Sebring to the limit, falling in five agonizing sets each time (including earlier this season), walked off the court dejected. Some Green Dragons fought back tears as they exited the gym.

That's how it's been in this rivalry of late.

"Nothing comes easy against Sebring," Green Dragons coach Marilyn Jones said, "and we knew that coming in through those blue doors."

Boosted by chants of "Let's go Sebring" from the blue-clad crowd, Abigail Bone, another senior, powered a kill shot that split the defense. That touched off a raucous celebration along the Sebring sideline, as the girls embraced, talked briefly and posed for one penultimate photo. Then came the flowers and posters from parents and students.

"It's crazy," Freeland said. "It doesn't feel like I should be here already."

Even in the fourth set, when players' legs typically grow weary from an evening's worth of vaults and digs, there was plenty of energy. There always is. That's what makes this rivalry so entertaining, Blue Streaks coach Venessa Sinness said.

Especially when it coincides with Senior Night.

"It was good competition, and they played hard," Sinness said, hoarse from an hour and a half of screaming. "It was very emotional for the seniors, and it's only going to get worse. This next week, they'll see a lot, they'll realize how hard it is. And they'll start to think 'this could be our last game.'"

As it is, Jones bid farewell to the engaging rivalry on Tuesday night. She will retire after the Green Dragons' season, after her players attempt to bring home an unprecedented fifth consecutive district title next week.

"I'm going to miss it," Jones said, and then, breaking into a smile: "There will still be a rivalry whether I'm on the bench or in the stands."

Whenever Jones revisits this rivalry - presumably with a spectator's perspective - she won't miss the near-misses that have haunted the Green Dragons recently.

Tuesday was no exception.

Sebring jumped out to a late lead in the first set, only to make it interesting when three potential set points found the bottom of the net. The Blue Streaks won, 25-23, when a Lake Placid serve sailed long.

They were dominant in the second set, with their serves finding the holes, their tips - including Bone's set-clincher - dropping over two defenders at the net.

Lake Placid, which last week ended its district season 12-0, cruised to a relatively uncontested third-set victory, behind the serves of Kylie Weber and the net play of Kayla Summerfield.

"We tried a lot of different combinations," Jones said, "and we just needed to find something that would work."

The Green Dragons even seemed to seize the momentum in the fourth set, capitalizing on a near-minute rally that enlivened the crowd. They held the lead late, when bodies were flying, players were flopping around, and Sebring's Brittanie Augustine and Lake Placid's Brittany Collison made good use of their knee pads.

"Coach Lee said it best: She's our white-out. She covers up other peoples' errors," Sinness said of Augustine, a senior, who finished with six kills, six blocks, 19 digs and 30 assists.

The Blue Streaks broke a 20-all tie with four straight points, two of which came from well-placed tips at the net.

And then, one point later, it was over.

"This was the best possible way I could think of to go into districts," Sinness said.

Ryan Lavner can be reached at 863-386-5841 or rlavner@highlandstoday.com

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