Lady Pirates season comes to an end in semifinals

The Braden River High volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 13-25, 14-25 16-25, loss to Manatee in a Class 7A-District 11 semifinal Oct. 23.

The No. 2 seed Lady Hurricanes defeated the No. 3 seed Lady Pirates for the sixth time this season to earn a berth in the regional tournament. Manatee will host No. 1 seed Venice at 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in the district championship.

Becca Butler paced Manatee with 16 kills and 12 digs. Jourdan McKinnis finished with 12 digs. Jesse Durst added 13 digs and three aces. Haley Coulter had 12 kills and eight digs. Rachel Drummey finished with nine digs, nine kills and seven blocks. Kayla Armer had 35 assists and 10 digs.

Demi-Shay Watchorn finished with 22 assists, nine service points, six digs and three kills to pace Braden River. Madison Jaco had eight kills and eight digs. Courtney McDevitt finished with six kills and eight digs.

The Lady Pirates advanced the district semifinals after beating No. 6 seed Port Charlotte 25-20, 25-13, 25-20 in the district quarterfinals Oct. 22.

Jaco paced the Lady Pirates with 14 kills, one block and three aces. McDevitt had 11 kills, seven assists and two aces. Watchorn added 41 assists and 12 digs. Siena Kelley finished with 19 kills and 16 digs.