Viera volleyball makes early-season statement with sweep of Melbourne
· Yahoo Sports
After Viera upset top-seeded Melbourne in the district semifinals last year, the two squads met in the second game of the season on Aug. 20.
The Hawks used big runs in the middle portion of all three sets to pull away from Melbourne for a 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 sweep.
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“I’m really excited about we played. We had a big talk at practice about controlling our side of the court and eliminating our errors from the first game,” Viera head coach Sarah Wayne said. “It’s probably first-game jitters, so we did a really good job of earning a lot of our points. I thought our defensive play was really well, but then we executed offensively really well with our outsides. Both of our middles had 0 errors. They did a great job.”
It was a balanced and potent Viera attack as 10 players scored points. The Hawks ended the night with 28 kills, 10 aces and 7 blocks that led to points.
“Our setters are comfortable setting any one of our three hitters across the net,” Wayne said. “That makes the other start to have to guess. That opens a lot of holes for our hitters.”
Viera junior Addi Casey led the charge on the outside with 14 kills. She finished one shy of a career high set last year.
“I think as a team we were all connected. We all were there together,” Casey said. “Our energy was there. Our setter hitter connection was there. Everything was just really flowing for us.”
Casey got her first varsity playing time last season. In 80 sets, the junior recorded 162 kills for second most on the team.
“Over the summer, I would definitely say (I worked on) out-of-system balls,” Casey said. “I would definitely say my mental game and how I prep for the game. I’m just more let’s get out there, let’s get going instead of thinking about a worse outcome.”
Viera jumped out to big leads in all three sets. Set one was tied 5-5 before Viera surged into the lead with a 15-1 run. In the second set, the Hawks 14-5 used a run to build an 18-9 advantage. Melbourne took a 4-1 lead in the third set, but Viera rattled off 7 straight points and never looked back sporting a 21-9 lead.
“Our service pressure was really good, so the other team was out of system a lot,” Wayne said. “We just executed offensively and just kind of kept the runs of points.”
Hawks freshman Samantha Wasdin posted 5 kills. Junior Brighton O’Brien ended the night with 4 kills and 2 blocks that landed for points. Junior Emery Hart and senior Shaylee Wreggit tallied 3 kills each.
“I definitely feel like we have high potential,” Casey said. “We have a really good group of girls. There’s high talent, high passion for the team.”
Viera improved to 2-0. Wayne said the district win will instill more confidence into the group moving forward.
“We have a long way to go until October, but it’s always good to just kind of put that message out there that we’re going to be a different team than we were last year,” Wayne said.
It was a tough night for a young Melbourne team after digging itself into big deficits in every set.
“Not exactly how I hoped we would come out as our second game of the season. We went through some ups and downs. They’re always a competitor. Sometimes for our new players, our young payers we come in and it can be a little intimidating,” Melbourne head coach Maira Thompson said. “They have a lot of people come out to watch the games. The crowd can also get in their heads. We got a couple younger people on our team and I think the inexperience shows up in these moments.”
The Bulldogs were led by senior Ansley Schack, who spiked 8 kills. Senior Maiya Jackson recorded 7 kills and 2 blocks for points. Sophomore Julia Schepp and freshman Cambrya Walters posted 4 kills each.
Melbourne battled back to make the end of each set competitive. It closed a 14-point deficit to 24-15 in set one, an 8-point deficit to 24-19 in the second set and a 12-point deficit in the final set to 24-17.
“I think that speaks to our ability to not give up and to keep going. That’s not something we really think of. We just go,” Thompson said. “The game’s not over until it’s over and that’s what we always try to preach to these kids and make sure that they’re not giving up. That helps with those runs at the ends.”
Melbourne dropped to 1-1. Thompson said this match was important in assessing where the team needs to go.
“There’s a lot of new connections, a lot of new personnel that are joining the team. They’re still trying to figure out how to mesh together,” Thompson said. “Once they start trusting each other a little bit more, I think we’ll see some major improvements on the court.”
Thursday volleyball scores
Astronaut def. Atlantic 25-12, 12-25, 25-17, 25-16
The War Eagles entered the win column for the first time this season, defeating Atlantic on the road in four sets. They improved to 1-1.
Edgewood def. Cocoa Beach 25-19, 25-11, 25-14
The Red Wolves, playing in their third game in three days, swept visiting Cocoa Beach to move to 2-1. Cocoa Beach suffered their second straight loss to open the season.
Vero Beach def. Heritage 25-16, 25-14, 25-14
The Panthers dropped to 0-3 after a road defeat at Vero Beach. They’ll look to capture their first win on Aug. 24 at Titusville.
Brevard Christian def. Palm Bay 26-24, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21
Palm Bay suffered its first loss of the season after losing at Brevard Christian. The Pirates complete the opening week of the season at 1-1.
Satellite def. West Shore 25-8, 25-9, 25-5
After losing to Bishop Moore in straight sets in the season opener, Satellite claimed its first win of the season with a dominant sweep of West Shore. The Scorpions move to 1-1 and the Wildcats drop to 0-2.
Melbourne Central Catholic def. Titusville 23-25, 25-21, 25-10, 16-25, 15-13
In the first five-set match involving Brevard County this season, MCC prevailed on the road after taking a 2-1 match lead. The Hustlers begin the year 2-0 while the Terriers fall to 0-2.
Merritt Island def. Holy Trinity 25-14, 25-12, 25-13
Merritt Island’s potent attack doubled up Holy Trinity with 35 kills compared to 17 in the sweep. Junior Ema Michell led the Mustangs with 12 kills. Junior Lydia Scott recorded 8 kills and 6 blocks. Senior Amber Ives finished with 10 assists and 4 aces.
Tigers junior Reena Kahlon and senior Taylor Yochim finished the match with 4 kills each to lead the attack. Senior Brooke Ellingson dug a game-high 14 balls.
Merritt Island improves to 2-0 and Holy Trinity falls to 1-1.
Space Coast def. Bayside 25-13, 25-5, 25-12
The Vipers dominated the Bears for their second straight win. Senior Isabella Taylor paced the attack with 13 kills. Senior Ava Keller produced 7 kills and 5 aces. Junior Gwen Cotham dished out 29 assists.
Space Coast sports a 2-1 record and Bayside moves to 0-2.
Calvary Chapel def. Pineapple Cove West Melbourne 8-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20
The Eagles bounced back from a tough first set to win the next three against the Pioneers. Calvary Chapel remains unbeaten at 2-0 while Pineapple Cove fell to 0-2.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Viera volleyball makes early-season statement with sweep of Melbourne