Manatee starts strong, survives Sarasota Riverview comeback bid to reach region final

BRADENTON -- The crowd inside the Manatee High School gymnasium grew to its loudest when Manatee inched a point away from taking a commanding two-set lead against Sarasota Riverview in the Class 8A-Region 2 semifinal.

Kara Saylor, tucked along the left sideline about halfway up to the net, stuck her left arm out against three consecutive Riverview shots, each time digging the ball back into play. The third time, the Hurricanes could finally set up their offense. Gabby Coulter raced toward the net and kept the ball from tipping to the Rams. The setter lifted the ball to middle blocker Stefani Keller, who lifted a kill over the discombobulated Riverview defense.

The play was one of the Canes' most improbable during a dominant first two sets. For two frames the Hurricanes clicked in every aspect, securing enough of a lead to survive the next two shaky sets and win 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 18-25 25-22).

"We were pretty much in control. I never really was nervous the first two sets," head coach Tony Cothron said. "Honestly, I wasn't even nervous the third set when we were down four because we've been able to come back."

The only time things became uneasy on the Canes' sideline was when the Rams hit a groove serving and rattled Saylor. The libero still finished with 30 digs, but struggled with her passing during the third set.

After Manatee (25-4) blew a 9-7 lead, Riverview (21-3) inched away from its District 6 rival. The Hurricanes didn't score again as the serving team during the third set as passes intended for Coulter drifted off-line and stopped

the Canes from setting up strong kill opportunities.

During a timeout late in the set, Cothron pulled Saylor aside while assistant coach Jocelyn Geraldson dealt with the rest of the team.

"I'm going with you the whole match," Cothron told her. "If you're afraid you're gonna get pulled I'm not pulling you, so you've got to play ball."

"Somebody just walked by and said, 'You got on your libero pretty hard,'" Cothron said after the match. "I said, 'Well, she needs to step up in a big match.'"

In the fourth set, Cothron said, Saylor didn't miss a single pass and Manatee was able to pull away in a back-and-forth set which was tied as late as 12-12. Even though the Hurricanes couldn't match their performance from the first two sets, they sealed a spot in Tuesday's region final against undefeated Kissimmee Osceola in Bradenton.

In those first two sets, the Canes played as well as they had in any recent matches, including their two previous wins against the Rams. They turned a 9-9 opening frame into a blowout with 11 straight points aided by four consecutive Riverview errors. In the second, Manatee raced out to a 12-3 to win 24-16 again.

"We were just on," middle blocker Jacqui Armer said. "We've played them two other times before, so we know their strengths, we know their weaknesses and we've been practicing what we need to do against them."

The Hurricanes kept their block low and Armer logged nine blocks to go along with 16 kills. Outside hitter Haley Coulter added 16 kills and 13 digs, and outside hitter JoJo Coulter chipped in 12 and 10. Gabby Coulter spread the work around offensively and finished with 43 assists.

Eventually, though, the Canes' one-handed lunges behind Armer and Keller wouldn't keep setting up easy spikes. Adversity finally hit and Manatee survived to move three wins away from a second consecutive 8A state title.

"We've just got to be ready for Tuesday," Cothron said. "Our next three matches are gonna be our toughest matches."

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Manatee starts strong, survives Sarasota Riverview comeback bid to reach region final ."