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Plant Tops Aquinas To Reach 5A Final

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By NICK WILLIAMS

nwilliams@tampatrib.com

Published: November 22, 2008

LAKELAND - If Plant volleyball coach Leanna Taylor has one signature characteristic, it's being prepared.

To simulate come-from-behind situations in practice, Taylor forces her first-team players to rally from a two- or three-point deficit against the second team.

Winner takes all.

On Friday, it wasn't a simulation for Plant. The two-time defending state champion had to fight off a resilient St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state semifinals as Plant advanced with a 25-21, 26-24, 25-17 victory.

Plant (27-3), ranked No. 12 in the Century Club National Top 100 poll, will face Winter Park Lake Howell in the state championship today at 5 p.m. Lake Howell defeated Tallahassee Leon, 25-22, 15-25, 25-14, 25-17.

The first game saw seven lead changes and five ties, but with the score 22-21, Plant scored three unanswered points to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Game 2 saw two lead changes and six ties, but again, Plant managed to pull out a win.

In Game 3, Plant jumped to a 10-3 lead and never looked back.

"This was a tough match in the fact that it was all about who would make the last unforced errors," Plant senior hitter Danielle Erb said. "It was all about trying to gain composure and get used to the arena."

Erb led Plant with 13 kills and 13 digs, while junior Maddie Martin added 12 kills and five service aces. Senior Ariel Ley finished with eight kills and three blocks, and junior setter Becca Howard had a match-high 38 assists.

"We knew St. Thomas was a strong team," Taylor said. "I'm very proud of the composure and the hustle my team had tonight."

Kelly Marble led Aquinas (25-6) with 13 kills, while Stephanie Zielinski added six kills and 11 digs.

"We really forced Plant to step up a little bit," Aquinas coach Lisa Zielinski said. "We knew that if we could get up to 18 points, we had a chance for it to go either way."

In the third game, Taylor said adjusting her team's blocking at the net gave way to a better offense.

"Once that occurred, we were able to pass from the defense and then were able to run the offense from the middle," she said. "It was a combination of starting from the block that led to better passes from defense that allowed Becca to run the middle."

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