TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Plant Looks To Defend 5A Championship

ADVERTISEMENT

By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

LAKELAND - Last season, when the Plant volleyball team journeyed to Lakeland to win the Class 5A state championship, the players and coaches played and carried themselves in a very businesslike fashion, handling their opponents quickly and soundly.

On Wednesday during the Class 5A semifinals at The Lakeland Center, it was a different story.

A young Plant team trailed in every game, only to rally toward the end to pull out a 27-25, 25-17, 25-20 victory against Winter Park Lake Howell to advance to today's state championship at 7 p.m.

Plant (29-1), ranked No. 1 in the state poll, will face Tallahassee Leon, which defeated Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-9.

"I see this team and I'm saying 'gosh we're young,'" Plant coach Leanna Taylor said.

"It's a different team, but they have the ability to make a statement at this tournament."

Sophomore Maddie Martin led Plant with 15 kills, five aces and 12 digs. Junior outside hitter Danielle Erb had 12 kills and 11 digs while senior and Duke-bound setter Kellie Catanach added 33 assists, three aces and eight digs.
Lake Howell (28-3), ranked No. 5 in the state, had an opportunity to take the first game after leading 23-22, but Plant tied the game 25-25 and sealed the win with two kills from Erb. Lake Howell led 12-11 in the second game and 10-9 in the third game before losing the lead in both.

The Silver Hawks, which tied a season record with 28 wins, was led by freshman Lauren Adkins, who had nine kills and seven digs.

"They opened the door for us more than I thought they would," Lake Howell coach Terri Kruczek said. "I thought we had them in the first game. At the start of every game, they allowed that to happen. We weren't able to capitalize on that."

Although Plant struggled with hitting errors in almost every game, the Panthers' serving was solid. Plant finished with 15 service aces, five by Martin, three by Catanach, Cameron Hill and Dickie Jordan, and one by Erb.

"Serving is a huge part of the game," Catanach said. "If you can't serve, you can't win the game."

Still riding high off their five-game win against Venice in the region final, Taylor said the concept of defending their state title hasn't hit the players yet.

"I don't think it's registered yet," Taylor said. "I think they're still in the capacity, they're still happy to be in the finals, happy to be in Lakeland. We'll see how they answer tomorrow to the task at hand. They're going to sleep good tonight and wake up excited tomorrow."

"I can't wait to play today," Martin said. "I've been thinking about it since the beginning."

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT