Sebring sluggish in district opener

This wasn't what Sebring had in mind when it said it wanted a crisp, efficient tune-up for the rest of districts.

Nevertheless, the Blue Streaks are another step closer to a championship clash with rival Haines City.

Playing its first game in six days, No. 2 Sebring slogged through a 25-18, 25-11, 20-25, 25-10 victory over Lake Wales on Monday night in the opener of the Class 5A-District 5 tournament.

"Hopefully we got that out of our system," senior Jaye Whitehead said.

Eleven days earlier, Sebring pounded Lake Wales, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, in three sets. But it was a decidedly different story Monday, when the Blue Streaks admitted they were caught looking ahead to the rest of the districts, to Osceola and a potential rematch with Haines City.

"You can't overlook teams," Sebring coach Venessa Sinness said, "because this is what happens when you overlook teams."

And here's what happened: The Blue Streaks, the pre-tournament favorite to challenge top-seeded Haines City for a third time this season, came out flat, rotated players (some inexperienced), dropped a set, then needed a spirited fourth-set rally to clinch what should have been a cinch.

"We were sort of looking past them and Sinness told us that we need to play with a sense of urgency and that right now, it's all or nothing," Whitehead said. "It could have ended Monday night if we didn't turn it around."

But they did, predictably. They erased a quick fourth-set deficit and rattled off 16 straight points.

Unlike a week ago, there was no demonstrative celebration after winning the final point, no group hug. Just a collective sigh of relief.

"If we're not consistent then we're not going to play well," Whitehead said. "This wasn't the team we're used to playing as."

Indeed, only midway through the fourth set did the Blue Streaks operate with their usual effectiveness - swinging the ball around, lofting it perfectly to their outside hitters and coming back into the huddle to celebrate the point.

Sebring promoted three JV players for the postseason, partly to give them the experience of traveling with the team, seeing the playoff atmosphere first-hand.

They ended up seeing game action Monday night.

"My girls play better after they have struggled with different players out there, they come back a lot more focused," Sinness said. "It's like they take each other for granted, so it's nice to give them a different look so they can say, 'Oh my god yes, we have to work together and stay together.'"

After a slow start, Sebring had several strong serves in the opening set, forcing Lake Wales to scramble, as the Highlanders drew no closer than six over the final 15 points.

The Blue Streaks were sloppier in the second set, but a burst of nine straight points led to a convincing 25-11 victory - a set won with two JV players on the floor almost the entire time.

Still, there was no energy, no urgency, no consistency. The crowd - which consisted of about 30 spectators, some of whom were Haines City players - barely made a murmur. And even the normally-fiery Sinness stood stoically on the sideline, arms crossed, clutching her clipboard.

She became a bit more irritated in the third set, however, when the Blue Streaks, battling lethargy and miscommunication, pounded three straight shots into the net and fell behind late, eventually losing 25-20.

"They wouldn't do anything special, but they'd just keep hitting the ball over," Sinness said. "We just didn't play well. We've got to have that consistency. We can come back against a team like this, but can we turn the momentum around against some of the other teams we're going to come up against? Our momentum cannot shift like that."

The Blue Streaks put away Lake Wales with a demoralizing 16-point run in the decisive fourth set to take a 18-4 lead.

So, was Sinness worried about any residual effects from this opening clunker?

"No, not at all," she said. "Losing a game is a reality check; losing a match is a heartbreaker."