Mustang Four-Peat

LAKEWOOD RANCH —Throughout Nicole Grant’s freshman season, she couldn’t help but look at the green volleyball banner hanging from the rafters of the gym at Lakewood Ranch High School.

The banner, void of any district championship accolades, served as a silent reminder of the work ahead for the Lady Mustangs.

That same year Lakewood climbed to district prominence, capturing its first district crown and advancing to the regional finals.

Since then, Grant, now a senior outside hitter, and her teammates have been a fixture atop the district standings, having won district titles every year since.

This year proved no different.

After finishing the regular district season undefeated and earning the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A-District 10 tournament, the Lady Mustangs rolled to a 25-10, 25-14, 25-10 victory against North Port in the district semifinals Oct. 21.

With the win, Lakewood posted another 20-win season, earned a berth in the regional tournament and advanced to the district championship for the fourth-consecutive season.

In doing so, the Lady Mustangs set up a district championship rematch with Sarasota, a 3-0 winner this year against Braden River.

But unlike last season’s title game, which went five sets, Lakewood cruised to an easy three-set victory, defeating Sarasota 25-17, 25-16, 25-13 to win its fourth straight district crown Oct. 23.

“Every title that I have won is really special to me, but this title is especially important because it was my senior year, and it’s the last district title I will be able to be a part of at Lakewood Ranch, which is very bittersweet,” Grant says. “It shows how much this program has improved and how much hard work we put in as a team every year.”

Grant powered Lakewood with 12 kills, two blocks and eight digs.

Layne Thompson added 11 kills and one block. Kahlee York finished with seven kills, one block and nine digs. Courtney Rapp dished out 35 assists and had one block.

“One of the advantages for this team is the teams before them have been strong, so this team could come on the court with a little more confidence,” coach Perri Hankins says. “They play really well together. A lot of the players have known each other since they were very young and have played together for many years. You can see the chemistry.”

Sophomore libero Ande McDonald had a relatively quiet night on the court, finishing with six digs. But the scenario couldn’t have played out better for McDonald, who competed in the Tri-County Cross-Country Meet at Celery Fields in Sarasota just two hours before the start of the district championship match.

McDonald finished second overall before racing to the Lady Mustangs’ gymnasium. McDonald made it in plenty of time, but the Lady Mustangs had a plan just in case.

“I told her, ‘Everybody on the team brought a libero jersey tonight, so if you don’t play well … ’” Hankins says. “She said, ‘Don’t even talk about it. I’ve got it, coach. I’ve got it.’”

As the district champion, Lakewood played host to Tarpon Springs East Lake in a regional quarterfinal match Oct. 29. The winner will advance to the regional semifinals Nov. 4 to face the winner of the other regional quarterfinal between Sarasota and Seminole.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].

Lady Cougars reclaim district crown
The Cardinal Mooney volleyball team defeated rival The Out-of-Door Academy 25-22, 25-27, 25-17, 25-22 to capture the Class 3A-District 10 championship Oct. 23.

Keri McMahon powered the Lady Cougars, who finished the regular district season undefeated, with 11 kills, 10 digs and five aces.

Maddie McNally added 11 kills. Maria Soscia finished with 22 digs. Lexi James had seven kills.

Natalie Buffett led ODA with 18 kills. Greta Holland recorded 18 digs, and Cameron Graham added 17 digs.

As the district champion, Cardinal Mooney played host to Clearwater Calvary Christian in a regional quarterfinal match Oct. 29, while ODA traveled to Clearwater Central Catholic. The winners will advance to the regional semifinals Nov. 4.

Braden River falls in semifinals
The Braden River High volleyball team saw its season come to and end with a 25-14, 25-8, 25-22 loss to Sarasota in the Class 7A-District 10 semifinals Oct. 21.

The Lady Pirates, who fell to the Lady Sailors twice during the regular season, finished the season 7-14.