LP moves into district title game

The Lake Placid volleyball team proved it deserved to be the top seed for the Class 3A-District 9 tournament by sweeping county rival Avon Park by scores of 25-21, 25-12, 25-22 in Wednesday night's semifinals in Mulberry.

The win moved the Green Dragons into Thursday night's championship final against McKeel Academy (Lakeland), which stunned Fort Meade in five sets.

"We didn't have our best night, but the girls did what they had to do and we'll take the win and move on," said veteran Lake Placid coach Marilyn Jones. "Avon Park played us tough and made us work for every point.

"Sierra Weaver served well and had a solid night at the net and Kylie Weber, Kayla Summerfield and Elizabeth Barragan played very well."

Lake Placid, which went a perfect 12-0 in district play during the regular season, is seeking its fifth consecutive district championship against a McKeel Academy squad that it's already defeated twice.

"It's hard to beat a team three times in one season," Jones said. "McKeel Academy has improved a lot and they lost the first two sets to Fort Meade, but they didn't quit and played very well the rest of the match.

"Every team wants to beat us and we know McKeel is going to give us their best shot and we just have to stay focused and play our game and see what happens."

A win against McKeel Academy would give the Green Dragons the district title and a home match in next week's regional quarterfinals, while a loss would send Lake Placid on the road against a district champion.

"Our goal when we started the season was to win a district championship," said Jones. "We're only one win away from doing that and the girls are excited about playing for the championship and getting that home match in the first round of the regionals.

"The girls have worked hard and we've had an outstanding season, but we've got to beat McKeel to make it really special."