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Zephyrhills rallies to top Lecanto

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The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - Host Zephyrhills rallied Wednesday night for a 23-25, 17-25, 25-11, 25-19, 15-10 victory against Lecanto in the Class 4A-District 8 semifinal to earn its first playoff berth since 2007.

The Bulldogs (19-4) will face Nature Coast - a 25-6, 25-14, 25-18 winner vs. Land O' Lakes - in the district final tonight at 7.

"We've been in this position twice before," second-year Bulldogs coach Dan Muir said of coming from behind. "One time we were up by two (games) and lost to Nature Coast. The next time we were down by two to Wiregrass and came back to beat them in five."

Zephyrhills' fortunes took a turn on a Taylor Willis kill to cut the deficit to 9-8. Two hitting errors by the Panthers (16-6) gave the Bulldogs the advantage, while Willis added two more kills and a block in addition to a Jen Petria kill for a 15-10 lead.

Willis ended the night with a game-high 17 kills.

Meanwhile, Nature Coast (19-8) blew past Land O' Lakes in Game 1. The Gators (11-9) held a brief lead in Game 2, but couldn't hold on. The Sharks kept the advantage in Game 3, but Land O' Lakes kept things close.

This is the sixth consecutive playoff berth for the Sharks.

Eddie Daniels

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