The Lady ’Canes picked up a pair of wins last week on the volleyball court, lifting them to 9-0 on the season, starting on Sept. 16 on the road. Their first obstacle in the crusade to remain unbeaten was Marathon, always a feisty competitor regardless of win-loss records, especially in their own house.
“We knew Marathon was going to be ready to play and their fans would be fired up for the game,” said head coach Jarrod Mandozzi, who described the Fins as “full of heart.” “Every year they seem to improve so much from the start of the season. They just don’t give up easy points and they really make you work to beat them.”
The Lady ’Canes came out swinging, setting the tempo of the match. “We came out and got right into our offense to take a quick 5-1 lead with Lily Hitchcock starting us off with a pretty emphatic kill,” said Mandozzi. Marathon managed to rattle the ’Canes at times, with big hits and blocks from Daysi Williams and Elena Eubank and all-out hustle from the defense, but the Hurricanes kept it together to sweep all three sets and come away with the win.
“It was a really great team effort with everyone pitching in,” Mandozzi said. Leading the way for Coral Shores were Violet Matthews, Sabina Naranjo, Celene Walker and Niveah Howard, who combined for 30 kills. Naranjo added 10 digs, Walker added 11, and Sofia Jans and Ivy Tiedemann, who were credited with 16 and 12 digs, respectively, were defensively divine.
On Sept. 19, Coral Shores played district rival Keys Gate for the first second time in a little over a week. The ’Canes wasted no time in dispatching the Knights in a 3-0 sweep to advance to 8-0 on the season. In their second road match of the week, the Hurricanes were stellar at the baseline.
“We had seven girls with a serve rating over 2.5, which is really impressive,” said Mandozzi. “Our JV call-up led the way with a 3.67.” That JV call up was part of the ’Canes’ strategy for the upcoming postseason, which often means numerous matches in a short period of time when illnesses begin to sweep the Keys. Mandozzi hopes to be prepared for anything, whether it is an ankle sprain or the flu.
Part of that prepare-for-all plan included moving players around to give them reps in new positions. “Eliyana McLeod does a great job setting for our JV and she stepped right in tonight and got some good experience for a set,” Mandozzi said. “She had 5 assists and 2 aces. We’ll go right back to our regular formations tomorrow, but we felt like this was a great game to try some different things for down the road.”
Now facing the final stretch of the season, the ’Canes have their work cut out for them. They will meet their toughest matches beginning and ending with Key West on Sept. 26 and again on Oct. 7. The Conchs bested the unbeaten Hurricanes in the preseason and both squads are playing their best volleyball now, making for an exciting pair of matches in the coming weeks. Regardless of the outcome of those matches, Coral Shores looks strong heading into districts, where they are ranked No. 1 in FHSAA 3A District 16 play.
Marathon fell to 2-11 last week with a trio of losses. After losing to Coral Shores, the Lady Fins lost 3-1 against both Posnack on Sept. 17 and Westwood on Sept. 20. Marathon’s record does not reflect its district chances. The Fins qualified for the rural division and will compete with similar schools upstate for their championships. The FHSAA created the division for smaller high schools, almost entirely public, in areas with lower population density. That’s an effort to create equity in a time when new tiny private schools pop up by the day, often focusing on athletics and making the regular 1-3A divisions full of temporary powerhouses. Marathon’s Rural Region 4 District 8 competitors – Glades Day, Moore Haven and Ft. Meade – are similar to Marathon in every way except proximity. The Fins will have to travel over 200 miles for their district tournament this season. Currently, only Moore Haven has more wins than the Fins, giving them a good shot at some hardware this October.
Key West, now 6-3, did not play last week. They resume action Thursday, Sept. 26 at Coral Shores. Across the island, Basilica split a pair of matches last week, bringing their record to 5-7. The Mariners lost to Somerset South Homestead, then finished the week by defeating Calusa Prep. The Mariners are not part of the FHSAA and therefore are ineligible for playoffs.
