Seacrest volleyball team reaches goal

Losing in the opening round of the regional playoffs on Tuesday night to Tampa-Cambridge was disappointing. We accomplished a goal of winning the district title, but we wanted to go farther into the playoffs.

(Seacrest, 20-6, became the first team in school history to win a district championship, followed a few days later by the swim team.)

We had a game plan that we had set forward to execute, but we weren’t consistent. Playing at home and wanting to win so badly may have put too much pressure on the players.

We lost the last two sets when we held the lead late, but couldn’t finish. We lost the last two sets, 26-24, 27-25, when the girls got over anxious.

Our record last year, 23-4, was good, but we made sure we played better competition this year to be ready for the playoffs. We lost senior Rachel Bowden to an ankle injury, but our only other senior, Chelsey Boll, did a great job in trying to keep our young team focused.

(Marco’s) Rikki Townsend, a sophomore, really stepped up. Probably one of the best players in Collier County, she will carry on the baton that Rachel held for the team. Since Rachel went down Rikki has taken her game to another level, attacking on the front row and back row, making all teams having to be on the defense at all times when she touches the ball. Her defending prowl has been an added value to the team.

(Marco’s) Lauren Montane, a sophomore, a left handler, has added a new dimension to our team, plus with her defensive read, covers a great deal of court all around.

(Marco’s) Samantha Buddemeyer, a sophomore, with her ability to block and read the offensive attack, has given the team a defensive boost at the net. She can also attack the ball from different parts of the court, including the back row.

They are also great passers and their serve receive is the best in the area. All in all, outstanding volleyball players with all facets of the game and young. They have plenty of volleyball ahead in them.

We will have 10 of 12 varsity members back next year. We also have in the Middle School eighth grade team, Ashley Murano, who also played on the JV team. The Middle School team won the Middle School Conference Tournament, which also included Marco Island Charter (Middle School).

I am very proud of our team and how far they have come, these past two years. Winning district this year was one of our goals, including having a good run at regional and I must say that even though we lost we should all be very proud the way we finished our season, because they went down fighting to the end and as a coach that is all I can ask.

This year the team had to adapt, adjust and react with the various challenges they had to tackle through the season and as they overcame the adversity they faced, these challenges were great life lessons, that at the end have made them better, athletes, volleyball players, students and human beings.

I was sad for our two seniors, Chelsey and Rachel, that we did not go farther in the regional tournament, but the fact that they built a volleyball program, that today has a district champion’s banner hanging in the gym, is an accomplishment, leaving a legacy for those to follow. I believe, as I did for this year’s team, that we will take our game to another level, going into at least the second and third round of regional competition (in 2010).

This is my third year as coach and our goal was to build a solid program and win a district title. We did that and now we can do more.