EAST MANATEE — Braden River’s volleyball team has mastered making the regional playoffs.
The Pirates’ next mission — heading to the playoffs with the district championship in tow, something the five-year-old program has never done. This year’s edition put itself in position to claim the crown by sweeping Seminole Osceola in Wednesday’s Class 4A-District 10 semifinal, clinching a berth in next week’s regional tournament for the third straight year.
Top-seeded Braden River (20-6) tries to win the first title in team history at 7 p.m. today at St. Petersburg Lakewood.
“We want this more than anything,” said senior Lauren Powell, who had 14 kills. “We’ve been working so hard all season that we deserve this. And the way we’re playing right now, I feel that we’re unbeatable — if we play our game and focus.”
Powell has been a fixture on the varsity team since she was a freshman, back when winning a district title wasn’t a realistic expectation.
“When we first started, we just wanted to have a winning season,” she said. “But now we work so much harder and we know that we’re a better team, and we can go as far as we want.”
A balanced attack got them into tonight’s final. Braden River, which won by scores of 25-14, 25-20, 25-12, got seven kills from Allison Martin, six from Kaleigh Jaco and five from Brittany Jaco.
Stirring the rallies was Regina Aluise, who dished out 39 assists.
That was enough to beat Osceola, which rallied from an 0-2 hole Tuesday to defeat Lakewood Ranch in the quarterfinals.
“I read that at 11 o’clock (Tuesday) night,” said Braden River coach Steve Haugh, “and sent an e-mail to everyone saying, ‘We need to close out the third game,’ because anything can happen.”
Powell was key in third game, snapping a 5-5 tie by slamming four consecutive kills, allowing the Pirates to sweep Osceola (10-6) for the second time this season.
“We always say, ‘One step at a time,’” Powell said. “We knew we couldn’t look past them.”
The Pirates were an emotional bunch Wednesday, cheering heartily and communicating after every point. That was what Haugh wanted to see — the players bringing the fun back to Braden River volleyball.
Now comes the next step — winning a district championship. And Haugh hopes his girls are as relaxed and loose as they were Wednesday.
“Sometimes you get blocked. Sometimes somebody puts a ball away where you can’t get it,” Haugh said. “Ignore those plays, move on. Stay steady, stay confident, and that’s what we preach here all the time.”
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