TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Young Eagles Resurrect Program's Playoff Hopes

ADVERTISEMENT

By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

BRANDON - There is a revival happening at Brandon High, and it doesn't involve a choir or a preacher.

When the school's volleyball team advanced to the Class 5A regional semifinals last week with a 5-game win against Land O' Lakes, it marked the furthest any Brandon volleyball team had advanced in more than a decade.

A young Eagles squad is writing a new chapter within the program and hopes to reach Saturday's regional final by beating River Ridge at 7 tonight.

"We really didn't get any recognition until now," sophomore outside hitter Alexandra Woodlee said. "You hear people talking in the hallways about going to volleyball games. We never had that before. It's still getting to me that it's reality. It's shocking how far we've come."

The victory over Land O' Lakes was the first postseason win for three seniors on the team, including libero Mary Hegarty, who leads Hillsborough County in digs with 434.

"This feels great," Hegarty said. "We've worked hard."

In her sixth season as coach, Amy Watson guided the team to its first district championship since the late 1990s. Of the team's three losses this season, only one was to a county team, top-ranked Plant.

Watson also had the task of replacing former coach Frank Vining, who led the program to state championships in 1984 and 1986.

"When I took over this program, it was a bunch of softball players playing volleyball," said Watson, who went 8-6 in her first season and has enjoyed a winning year ever since. "Now, our whole starting lineup except for one plays club volleyball. Four of them play year-round on my club team."

Watson thought she had a playoff team in last year's squad, but the Eagles, seeded second in the district tournament, were upset by fifth-seeded Wharton in the semifinals.

The loss motivated the team this season.

"Our whole season was about being on a mission," Watson said.

"It drove us to do better this year," Hegarty said.

Watson said the team hasn't reached its potential.

"We're very driven, but since the Plant game, they haven't been pushed," she said. "They always wait to see how the other team is going to play. I think the light bulb went on against Armwood in the district final."

Woodlee leads the team in kills with 212, making her one of the top hitters statistically in the county. At the middle position, Watson has used 5-foot-11 senior Megan Fenzau and 6-2 sophomore Audra Geniesse, who have 93 and 89 blocks, respectively. Freshman setter Lindsey Watson, the coach's daughter, quarterbacks the offense and leads the team with 411 assists.

Tonight will make a week since the team has played a match. Watson, however, said the team has learned to be patient.

"If you look at our schedule, we had one match a week the whole season, so this isn't anything they're not used to," she said. "It's given us time to prepare. It's not going to hinder us."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT