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District prep volleyball preview

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2009

Class 6A-District 8 at Brandon

Teams: Alonso, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Plant, Wharton

Outlook: Plant, the 10th-best team in the nation according to PrepVolleyball.com, enters the tournament as the top seed. Bloomingdale earned the third seed in the tournament and should be confident going against second seed Brandon in the quarterfinals. The Bulls defeated Sickles earlier in the season, a team Brandon squeezed past a few weeks ago.

Class 5A-9 at Gaither

Teams: Chamberlain, Freedom, Gaither,

Hillsborough, Leto, Sickles

Outlook: Gaither upset Sickles 3-1 to earn the top seed in the district. Led by 6-foot middle blocker Jenna Clark and outside hitter Laura Ackart, Gaither has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2009 season. Leto started the season 1-5, but led by senior outside hitter Fatimah Domingush, the Falcons went on a 7-1 streak to close out the season and finish third in the district standings.

Class 5A-8 at Durant

Teams: Armwood, Durant, East Bay,

Newsome, Riverview, Tampa Bay Tech, Plant City

Outlook: Led by high-flying senior outside hitter Emilee Taylor, Armwood defeated Newsome 3-1 to clinch the top seed in the district tournament. Riverview, led by 6-3 sophomore middle blocker Sarah Burrington, could be the team to make a surprise run to the title match.

Class 4A-9 at Jefferson

Teams: Blake, Lennard, Jefferson, Middleton, Robinson, Spoto, Steinbrenner, Strawberry Crest

Outlook: First-year program Steinbrenner went undefeated in district play to earn the top seed. Led by Kristen Liguori and Sam Drane, the Warriors could win a district title in their inaugural season. Leslie Gibson has been the backbone of the Robinson defense, leading the team in digs and serves received en route to a second-place finish in the district standings.

Class 3A-10 at St. Pete Catholic

Teams: Academy of the Holy Names, Berkeley Prep, Clearwater Central Catholic, St. Pete Catholic, Tampa Catholic

Outlook: Berkeley Prep, the No. 20 ranked team in the nation, has been led by a number of star players, namely sophomore outside hitter Jordan Burgess and Colgate-bound senior middle hitter Lindsay Young. Tampa Catholic, under first-year coach Butch May, the father of Olympic star Misty May, earned the second seed and will need to get past third seed CCC in the semifinals. In their only meeting of the season, the Crusaders defeated CCC 3-0.

Class 2A-10 at Indian Rocks Christian

Teams: Bishop McLaughlin, Calvary Christian, Indian Rocks Christian, Tampa Prep

Outlook: The injury-plagued Terrapins are the defending champions and should expect a meeting with Indian Rocks Christian in the title match.

Class 1A-8 at Seffner Christian

Teams: Bayshore Christian, Bradenton Christian, Citrus Park Christian, Hernando Christian, Seffner Christian

Outlook: Bayshore Christian has won 13 consecutive district titles, and will have to defend that streak against its biggest rival, Bradenton Christian.

Class 1A-9 at various sites

Teams: Academy at the Lakes, Carrollwood Day, Cambridge, Canterbury, Berean Academy, Keswick Christian, Tampa Bay Christian

Outlook: Four teams finished district play with two losses or less and top-seeded Canterbury needed five games to defeat Cambridge, the second seed in the district.

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851.

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