The Lady Conchs are hitting their stride this season on the volleyball court, making it four in a row after wins against county opponents Marathon and Basilica School. Now 12-6, Key West sealed the deal against Basilica school Sept. 17 with a 3-0 win on their home court. Audrey Smith picked up nine kills and three blocks while Gabby Garcia registered 11 kills, 17 digs and three aces. Tess Wright added five kills to the team total while Adriana Heinrichs had six kills, five aces and 15 digs. Molly McKnight kept the offense going with 27 assists and a pair of aces.
The following night, coach Kim Butler wasn’t ecstatic with her team’s performance against Marathon, but chalked it up to their frequent road trips this season.
“We will take the win, but definitely not our A game,” she said. “I don’t know if they were tired from Tampa and last night’s game, but we had a lot of mental errors and didn’t play like we did last weekend.”
Key West did not need their A game to defeat the Dolphins 3-0 in Marathon. Smith had 13 kills and two blocks against the Fins, with Heinrichs adding six kills, an ace and 15 digs. Wright earned seven kills and McKnight had another pair of aces and 30 assists in the win.
The Conchs will play the rest of their regular season in-county with the exception of their Oct. 2 contest against St. Brendan. That match will be the team’s first taste of the 4A District 16 pool. Key West’s strength of schedule, achieved through a lot of tournament travel, has boosted their rankings and should give the team all the confidence they need to go far into the postseason.
Key West isn’t the only Monroe County team with a winning record this season; Coral Shores is holding strong at 7-5 and ranks toward the top of their 3A District 16 opponents. On Sept. 17, the Hurricanes lost 3-2 against Somerset South Homestead, a team with just one loss this season. Somerset’s only blemish was dealt to them on Aug. 25 by Coral Shores. This time around, the ’Canes came up just shy of the win, taking Somerset to five sets and losing the final one by just two points. Celene Walker and Coralyn Frimpter were credited with strong performances and a bevy of kills in the close contest.
The Lady ’Canes have a flurry of activity left on their schedule, with three matches against district opponents. Coral Shores, like Key West, has a solid strength of schedule, boosting them in the rankings. But to bring home a district championship in the eight-team district, the Hurricanes will need to upset some formidable opposition. That includes perennial powerhouse Gulliver Prep, ranked fifth in all of 3A and 40th in the state for all classifications.
After losing two matches last week, Marathon’s hopes for postseason glory are certainly not over. The Lady Fins are yet untested in Rural District 8 play. The 1-9 Fins faced similar odds last fall, when the team, despite just three regular-season wins, brought home a runner-up trophy in their classification. The team’s schedule is markedly more difficult than the other teams in their pool, and with several winnable matches left on their schedule, it would be foolish to count the Dolphins out of the running.
Though the plans are in the works, Basilica School is not yet part of the FHSAA and will not be eligible for the playoffs. That alone makes the final stretch of the Mariners’ season all the more important. The Mariners close out their season Oct. 8 at home against Key West for a second Bone Island Battle.
MAICEY MALGRAT/Keys Weekly
