On Tuesday night, just one match stood between the Lady ’Canes and a perfect season. Head coach Jarrod Mandozzi knew the tall task would be no walk in the park in his team’s trip to Key West to face the Lady Conchs, but Coral Shores is not new to adversity this season and the team was up for the challenge.
“It’s fitting that in order to wrap up an undefeated season, we’ll have to do it on the road against Key West,” Mandozzi said before the match. “We know they’re always a great team and are well-coached, so we’re excited”
The 11-0 ‘Canes stormed into Bobby Menendez Gymnasium on Oct. 7 ready to do what seemed highly unlikely in August when they struggled in the preseason and were without a leader until Mandozzi stepped in. In addition to the chance at an undefeated season for the ’Canes, up for grabs for both teams was the title for Queens of the Keys, as both squads had beaten the other two in-county groups soundly.
It was Senior Night for the Conchs, who defended their home court with gusto, pulling off an early 5-0 lead in set one. Key West was on the attack, putting the ‘Canes on their heels just trying to stay alive. Key West won that one 25-14, but in set two, the ‘Canes’ hitters came alive, winning it decisively, 25-17.
Set three was a back-and-forth battle, but the Conch hitters were relentless. Audrey Smith would end the night with 4 kills and Gabby Garcia with 12. The 25-21 win for Key West gave them the advantage heading into set four. The intensity did not disappoint in that set, either. Both sides played with passion and hustle, but Key West reached 25 first, ending the match with a 25-23 score and thereby snuffing the hopes for a Coral Shores perfect season. Reese Haggard had 4 aces and 20 assists on her Senior Night. The Conchs’ other senior, Sunisa Kuhn, amassed 16 digs in the match despite a minor injury. The ‘Canes go down in the books with a record of 11-1 as they regroup for their district tournament Oct. 15, in hopes of bringing home the FHSAA 3A District 16 trophy.
On the way to the exciting culmination of their regular season, the Hurricanes effectively stormed through their schedule, with the latest victims being Marathon and Somerset South Homestead. On Oct. 2, Coral Shores came out strong, working themselves up to a 8-1 lead in the first set. Marathon battled back, but the ‘Canes snapped out of it and won the set 25-22. Coral Shores improved with each set, winning 25-20, then 25-18 to defeat the Dolphins 3-0.
“Marathon is always tough. They don’t give up easy points and of course there is a lot of pride being county rivals,” said Mandozzi, before praising one Fin he has coached against for many years. “Elena Eubank is such a fantastic athlete and competitor and a terrific young lady. I told her after the game that it has been a pleasure to coach against her and get to know her a little bit over the last however many years in basketball and now volleyball. I also told her that I was glad that I no longer had to game plan for her after tonight, but kidding aside she’s one of the more special athletes I’ve seen come through the Keys over the last eight or so years.”
Mandozzi explained that the magic in this year’s team goes beyond talent and skill. He placed a great deal of their success on the intangibles, such as the heart and hustle of Sofia Jans, Lily Hitchcock and Grace Leffler. Jans led the team in digs against Marathon with 16, and Mandozzi also lauded her serving, which he described as “lights out.”
Leffler had promised her coach a big game that night, and “she definitely delivered,” said Mandozzi. “She was second in hit percentage for us and added a couple of big blocks and Lily (Hitchcock) had some thunderous hits tonight, leading us with a .316 hit percentage and 7 kills.”
The following night, Coral Shores hosted South Homestead in a battle of Hurricanes. Coral Shores was 10-0, while South Homestead was 10-1, with their only loss coming from Coral Shores the week prior. In the preseason it was South Homestead who came out with the W. Despite entering the match with the upper hand, Mandozzi knew the danger of complacency.
“I told our girls that the weight of a long win streak like we’re on can be a lot to carry. Sometimes it’s hard to keep that fire and intensity game in and game out that got us here, and I kept reminding them that we have to fight that and resist the urge to let our foot off the gas,” he said.
But Mandozzi had little to worry about; the Lady ‘Canes were all gas, no brakes against the other Hurricanes, and Coral Shores’ serving was again on-point. Five of the six starters had serve ratings over 2.0, and the Lady ‘Canes collectively had 13 aces in the match. Once the ball was in play, Celene Walker made sure it landed across the net, racking up 10 kills. Leffler and Nevaeh Howard added 4 apiece. Shelby Lynn was credited with 15 assists while Ivy Tiedemann added 7 to the team effort.
After their loss to the Hurricanes, the Lady Fins dropped one more to Westwood Christian last week. But they were successful at home against Archimedean on Oct. 4, picking up their third win of the season. Once they play their rubber match against Basilica on Oct. 10, the Lady Fins will head to Moore Haven for the District 8 Rural tournament on Oct. 18. Marathon, despite its 3-14 record, is ranked second in their district due to the difficulty of their schedule. The Fins hope to make a run in the postseason in their first year participating in the Rural classification, which was created for small schools in areas with light population density so that they have competition from similar opponents.
The Lady Conchs picked up two wins last week, including the in-county title bout against Coral Shores and another win against neighboring Basilica School, despite having to get creative with their lineup due to injuries. With Kuhn and Journey Lamb both out, Savannah Ventimiglia put on the libero jersey for the match, stepping up with a dozen digs. Smith registered 12 kills, 3 aces and a pair of blocks while Garcia had 10 kills, 2 aces and 16 digs. Haggard was perfect in serving, on-target with all 22 attempts with 4 aces and 14 assists. Molly McKnight added another dozen assists to make the win a team effort as Key West rolls into their final two regular-season matches of the season. They will begin their district tournament Oct. 14.
After a loss to Key West, Basilica lost at Cushman the following afternoon. The Mariners finish their inaugural season on Oct. 10 at Marathon for a rematch against the Fins. In August, Basilica School beat the Fins at home, then lost to them at Key West in tournament action in September. The October winner will be decided at Marathon in the final match of the regular season for both teams. For the Mariners, it will be the last game of the season, as they do not participate in the FHSAA and are thereby ineligible for a district tournament.
