Lady Mustangs set sights on history

LAKEWOOD RANCH — A championship banner hangs down from the rafters, serving as a silent reminder every time the Lakewood Ranch High volleyball team takes the court.

The banner remains blank — void of any district, regional or state titles. It’s a constant reminder of years of disappointment and missed opportunities.

But the Lady Mustangs are hoping to change that this season after finishing a perfect 5-0 in the district during the regular season and capturing the top seed in the Class 6A-District 12 tournament.

“I just want to get on that banner up there,” senior Shelby Walker said. “You look (around) and see all of the other years before us that can come back and say they won. When we’re running I look at the state championship baseball banner — I want to have my name on one of those.”

Junior Mariah Robertson concurred with Walker’s sentiments.

“We aren’t even up there,” Robertson said. “We want to put our names in history and become the first team to get our names up on the wall. It’s really important to all of us.

“It’s been our goal to get up there,” Robertson said. “It’s blank and it shouldn’t be that way. Our goal is to change that.”

After finishing with a 17-7 record and sweeping the district during the regular season, Lakewood began its quest for its first district title Oct. 25. The top-seeded Lady Mustangs played host to fourth-seeded Largo in a Class 6A-District 12 semifinal.

Results from Tuesday night’s match were unavailable as of press time Tuesday. Be sure to check YourObserver.com to see how the Lady Mustangs faired. The winner of the semifinal match between Lakewood and Largo will play the winner of the second semifinal between Seminole Osceola and Palmetto in the district championship at 7 p.m. Oct. 27.

Heading into the season, coach Perri Hankins was confident in her team’s ability. With several returning starters and players ready at every position, Hankins believed her players were capable of competing every time they stepped out onto the court.

The Lady Mustangs continued to make progress through the season, finishing second in all three tournaments they played in. They also were the only team in each of the three tournaments to have beaten the eventual champion earlier in the tournament.

But nothing could’ve ignited the Lady Mustangs’ confidence heading into the district tournament then their regular season finale versus rival Braden River Oct. 18. After losing the first game 20-25, Lakewood rallied, winning the next three games 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 to defeat the Lady Pirates for the first time.

“I can’t even explain it,” Robertson said of beating Braden River. “It’s our rival. We hadn’t beaten them. Our school is really big on supporting us, so it was a school pride thing. You can take pride in knowing you did it.

“Everyone was screaming and yelling,” Robertson said. “That is why we play volleyball — for games like that.”

“We beat Braden River, which we hadn’t done before,” Hankins said. “I feel like we’re getting better and we’re peaking at the right time. We feel we can really (compete) at a positive high level, win and do well.”

The victory was especially sweet for Walker, who was celebrating Senior Night with fellow seniors Quillan Toller and Kasey Szczwpanski.

“It was awesome,” Walker said. “It was a really intense game. We were all nervous. I was shaking.
“We haven’t ever beaten them, but this season I think we realized how far we can actually go,” Walker said. “This gives us a lot of confidence.”

Over the course of the season, the Lady Mustangs have relied heavily on Walker, who is the their leading blocker, along with sophomore setter Alexandra Milbourn, who has been instrumental in running Lakewood’s offense, and Robertson, who is the team’s best all-around player.

“We’ve been using pretty much every player,” Hankins said. “It’s been fun and (definitely) a team effort. Different players have stepped up in every match.”

After a somewhat rough start, Lakewood began focusing on taking one match at a time. The Lady Mustangs’ hard work has paid off, as the players are in the midst of their best season in school history.

The team knows it still has a long way to go before a state championship volleyball banner hangs down from the rafters, but the Lady Mustangs are two wins away from their first-ever district title — a pivotal step in their march toward an elusive state championship.

“Since we were the regular season district champions, we want to be the first team up there for volleyball,” Hankins said. “We feel like we match up with any other district, so I just told them, ‘Let’s go out and see where we can end up.’ We’re just ready to face whoever is going to be there.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].