Sebring Blanks Hardee In District Volleyball

WAUCHULA - Turning the corner.
That's what the Sebring High School volleyball team has done in the last week.

Playing with plenty of heart, desire and effort, the Blue Streaks rolled past Hardee 25-22, 25-16, 25-10 on Tuesday night in the Wildcat gymnasium.
With the Class 4A-District 10 win, Sebring improved to 12-4 overall and an impressive 9-1 in district play.

"We came out a little sluggish in the first game, but we were able to get focused and played well the rest of the match." Blue Streak coach Vanessa Sinness said. "We are jelling and coming together as a team and we have played really well the last week.
"There are still a few things that we need to work on because we want to be playing our best and peaking at district tournament time."

The loss dropped the scrappy Wildcats to 1-11 overall and 1-9 in district.
"Sebring is a good team and we were in every game," Hardee coach Ken Leupold said. "I'm pleased with the girls effort, our passing was the best its been all year, we communicated well and played hard.
"We got down, but didn't quit and that's great to see."

The first game was a see-saw affair with Hardee taking an 18-17 lead on an ace serve by Megan White.
Sebring bounced back behind strong net play from junior outside hitter Hannah Shoop, who had a team-high seven kills, and excellent serves by Sam Lower to take a 24-22 lead.
A big block by Lynsey Cleghorn and Shoop gave the Blue Streaks the first-game win.

Hardee's chances for the upset took a big hit late in the first game when outside hitter Eryn Mahoney went down with an ankle sprain and was unable to return.
Sebring jumped out an early lead in game two, but the Wildcats clawed back to make it 12-11 on a spike by Kember Townsend, who had a team-high six kills.

The Blue Streaks pulled away behind several powerful serves from Lower and solid play at the net by freshman Anna West to take a commanding 18-13 lead.
Lower, who had nine aces, kept firing away and a Hardee spike attempt went long to give Sebring the victory in game two.

The Blue Streaks, with momentum clearly on their side, jumped on top 6-1 in the final game.
Hardee called a time out to try and slow down the Sebring express.
But setter Ashley Waldon, who had a game-high 20 assists, kept putting the ball in perfect position for the Blue Streaks big hitters, as the lead increased to 11-1.

Hardee made one last run behind a pair of spikes by Townsend and several ace serves by White to slice the deficit to 17-8.
Sebring kept the pressure on with solid passing and defense and an ace serve by Ricki Albritton closed out the match for the Blue Streaks.

"I like where we're at as a team," Sinness said. "We have improved tremendously from the beginning of the season and if we keep working hard and stay focused, we have a chance to do well in the district tournament."