In the first game, it was a 10-point scoring spurt.
The next game, Manatee's volleyball team pulled away from Bayshore, scoring eight consecutive points.
And in the third game, the Hurricanes didn't falter from the opening serve, running off 19 straight points.
In the end, Manatee cruised past the host Bruins 25-16, 25-18, 25-3 in non-district action Tuesday.
"We try to get strings of points and not just one point, and then give them the ball," said Manatee's 6-foot middle blocker Courtney McDonald, who had three aces, 16 kills and two blocks. "That's the way to win. It keeps your momentum high, and it gets your team's confidence higher when you keep pounding the points down."
Yet, McDonald wasn't all about pounding the ball. Several of McDonald's kills came in the form of light taps of the ball into a hole in Bayshore's defense. The strategy clearly caught the Bruins off guard.
"Last year, I would just hit the ball, instead of being smart," said McDonald, who had 13 service points. "Usually, I'm not good at tipping, but I've just tried harder. I still want to get better at my blocking and getting quicker sets."
Taylor Mealy, another 6-foot middle blocker, had nine kills and an ace, and Brittany Wilson had four aces for the Canes.
Manatee improved to 19-1.
"We are executing the plays the way they are supposed to be executed," Manatee coach Jessica Hinkle said. "They are running smart plays, and they are keeping the ball in play, and for us that is key to win the game. We obviously have to control the front line. If we are passing well and hitting the ball well, we shouldn't be shut down."
The Bruins came into the game on a three-game winning streak with victories over Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota Christian, but hitting errors and shaky defense doomed Bayshore.
For the Bruins (8-11), Kelsey Sullivan had three kills and two blocks, and Michelle Birmingham had three kills and two blocks.
"The past three nights we've played good and hard," said Bayshore outside hitter Lilla Lukacs, who had two kills, eight digs and eight service points. "(Tuesday), I think we started strong in each game, but toward the end we kind of gave up. We were expecting more from us, but they are a good team, and they always broke away around 15."
Still, Bayshore coach Ralph McElhiney said his team can build off Tuesday's defeat.
"We overpassed the balls. That was our biggest nemesis," McElhiney said. "We were leading in the second game, and we overpassed the ball four or five times, and they put them away. We definitely proved that we can stay with them, but we can't make errors like that. We just have to have a better package and better serve receiving."
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