Energized Streaks Topple Dragons

Senior Rikki Albritton paced back and forth like a caged animal with a hungry look on her face before Sebring took the court to face nemesis Lake Placid on Tuesday at the Sebring Preseason Classic.

"I was a bundle of energy and nerves all wrapped into one," Albritton said. "I have to be intense when I'm on the court. I feel like I could go run five miles right now."

Albritton showed that the summer training program - which included a mandatory mile run just to be able to make the team - is going to pay dividends early and often for the Streaks, who were just as sharp at the end of the match as they were in the beginning en route to dispatching the Green Dragons in three hard-fought games in the late game of the Sebring Preseason Classic.

Sebring head coach Venessa Sinness was all smiles after the game when talking about her team's performance.

"It was really amazing to see the cohesion on the court that I normally don't see until mid-season," Sinness said. "Our defense played great and our energy was unbelievable.

"Now we just have to build on all those positives."

Sinness has been criticized by some players and parents for her strict physical requirements to play on for the Streaks volleyball team, with many opting not to play rather than adhere to her guidelines. But the Sebring coach has gotten nothing but support from her team and the administration.

"We only have nine girls on varsity because some girls didn't buy into the program or what we're trying to accomplish," Sinness said. "I'm happy with the team that's out there and I know they're all totally committed to the program and winning.

"The reason why I've pushed these girls physically and had them working out and running over the summer is so they won't fade late in the season like we've done in the past."

Lake Placid's young squad gave Sebring all they could handle, as they traded leads five times in the first game before the Streaks pulled away with a 6-2 run that was ignited by two kills by sophomore Anna West for a 25-21 win.

Molly Blackman came up huge for the Streaks in the second game, when she had two kills and back-to-back blocks down the stretch to tie the game at 23 before Sebring squeaked out a 26-24 win.

The Green Dragons showed a ton of heart in the third game and why they'll be a force to win their fourth straight district title.

Down 20-9, Julie Shrewsberry hit a winner down the left side and Keneisha Hamilton followed that up with a kill to the heart of the Streaks' defense to ignite a 9-3 run that had Sinness calling a time out to stop the bleeding, while the Green Dragons huddled to find a way to pull out a win.

"We watched Avon Park come back from being two games down and knew that we could play better," said Lake Placid's Sierra Weaver. "We just told everybody to not give up, and let's play our game."

But Karlie Freeland hit a power shot to the back row and Albritton put an exclamation mark on the evening with an ace to send the Streaks into celebration.

Blackman finished with five kills and four blocks, West had four kills and two blocks, while Abby Bone had four kills for the Streaks, who spread the scoring wealth among several players, much to the delight of their coach.

"I'm ecstatic over the way we moved the ball and scored with numerous rotations on the floor," Sinness said. "This kind of offense makes it difficult for teams to defend us. They're never going to know who to guard."

Albritton was fit to be tied after the game with energy and excitement over the upcoming season.

"We played so great tonight as a team," Albritton said. "Lake Placid is a solid team and we had to fight for every point we got tonight. I'm just happy that we were aggressive and ran our offense the way we should and got points from that.

"I told everyone after the game that this is the beginning of a great season for us. It's state or bust."

TONIGHT'S GAMES

Lake Placid vs. Frostproof, 6 p.m.

Sebring vs. Avon Park, 7:30 p.m.