Slow Start Downs Dragons

Kaneisha Hamilton ran the full range of emotions on Tuesday night, but as the final point closed the door on her high school volleyball career, the tears were too many to hold back.

"I just broke down even before the ball fell, knowing that this was the last time I'd play volleyball in this gym," Hamilton said. "I just couldn't believe that it ended like this.

"We were a much better team, but tonight was not our night."

Hamilton's four kills and three aces spearheaded a second-game surge that tied the match and gave the Green Dragons a shot of adrenaline, but as the girls found out later, it may have been the worst thing for them during a 25-16, 14-25, 16-25, 25-20 loss to Melbourne Central Catholic in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals.

"After we won that second game, I think we got overexcited and it showed in our play," said LP senior Julie Shrewsbury. "I think we were just too hyped up and it showed as MCC took advantage of our sloppy play."

MCC jumped out to a 17-10 third game lead in what turned out to be the pivotal point in the match, as Lake Placid struggled to get their offense rolling.

Hustler's Rachel Priester had a game-high 21 kills, three blocks and three aces, which included scoring five of MCC's seven points during a game-changing 7-2 run that made it 10-5 and shifted the momentum back to the visiting team.

LP head coach Marilyn Jones funneled the analysis down to its bare bones of her team's performance in their biggest game of the season.

"We are a slow-starting team and that just caught up to us tonight," Jones said. "We couldn't get our passes to our setter Julie Shrewsbury, who was running all over the court and that in turn made for some bad shots.

"On a good day, we could've beat this team, but we didn't bring our best game. If we ever were going to have a chance to move on in the tournament, I thought it was going to be with this group. "

Down 19-13 and facing elimination, senior Jessica Wantuck served up a pair of aces and had a huge kill, tying the game at 20 and forcing a timeout by the Hustlers.

"I just told the team that they're not better than us," Shrewsbury said. "We have a real heart for this game and I told the seniors 'Don't you dare let this be your last game.' "

But Priester served up three aces, including the match winner, as the Hustlers move on to face the winner of the John Carroll/Mulberry matchup in the regional semifinals on Nov. 11.

Jones was critical of her team's performance, saying this wasn't the best team they'd faced all season.

"It wasn't that their hitters were that great, it was that we played poorly," Jones said. "We've faced better hitters than them, but it came down to we couldn't overcome our mistakes and they came out on top."

Lake Placid looked lethargic in the opening moments of the match, as MCC streaked out to an early lead behind Hustler outside hitter Samantha Kolb, who blasted two shots and a pair of aces past a Green Dragons defense slow to react as the first game slipped away.

Jones tried to add a spark to her squad, telling her girls "they're not better than us."

Hamilton fired the an ace for the first point of the second game, which was more like a rallying cry for LP, as the Green Dragons hit from every angle in scoring nine straight points to build a 16-5 lead that was up to Jones' satisfaction.

"That was our real team that played in the second game," Jones said. "We were moving the ball well and catching them out of position."

Hamilton's all-around play and junior Sierra Weaver's three kills and two blocks helped spark the resurgence, and Kayla Summerfield's spike put the exclamation mark on the 11-point win and had the fans on their feet.

But the rally was short-lived, as Priester and the Hustler's quieted the home crowd and came out victorious at the expense of the departing Green Dragon seniors.

"It's real tough to think that it's over," Shrewsbury said. "I know we had the talent to go far in the tournament, but it just wasn't our night."