On Tuesday night, the Weeki Wachee Hornets (1-2) defeated the Springstead Eagles (1-2) at the Hornets’ Nest. The Green and Black benefited from a strong performance by sophomore Marlee Schumacher to give the home team its first win under the leadership of head coach Erin Clark. She noted the presence the sophomore brings to the team after the game.

“She provides us with leadership and volleyball IQ,” Coach Clark said. “She provides stability on the court when we need it. Other than that, she’s a great teammate, but her teammates are great to her too. That makes it easy. They get behind her, support her and give her the opportunity to play that role for us.”

The first set was a back-and-forth affair. Although the Eagles didn’t take their first lead until the final set, they were able to tie the Hornets five times in the first set. One of their ties saw the home team tied 23-23, but Clark’s team was able to hit back immediately. Of course, Schumacher was the main character. She was responsible for 10 of her team’s 25 points in the opening set, including the final two points that broke the late stalemate and gave the Hornets a 25-23 win.

While the scoring was more even for Springstead, sophomore Paloma Verde stood out for her powerful kills. Head coach Andrea Gracey praised Verde’s play as she follows in the footsteps of former Eagles star Emily Miller. Along with setter Arianna Brookins, that makes two sophomores in leadership roles for the Red, White and Blue. In fact, both coaches praised their setters for putting their teams in good positions on Tuesday.

“I’m just happy with our setter. She’s a 10th grader. She learned a lot from Isabella last year and of course I’m very proud of Poloma. She’s a 10th grader as well. Given the legacy Emily has left with the program, she’s really digging deep and taking all the feedback well to put it in her footsteps. So to have two 10th graders playing such an important role on a varsity team, the future is definitely looking great.”

“The setter role is a lot of pressure for Isabel Shelby, and that alone is all the pressure you can put on her shoulders,” Coach Clark said. “She has to get the ball to her teammates and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing or making plays. She stays in the system, communicates with them and contributes pretty big for us from the service line as well.”

The second set belonged to Weeki Wachee as the Hornets built an unassailable 10-1 lead and never looked back. A little bad luck for Springstead and lots of strong play from Schumacher (another 5 kills, 1 block), senior Reese Halter and senior S Isabel Shelby allowed the home team to extend their lead and hold it throughout. For the Eagles, Verde contributed 6 points in the penultimate set, although it was nowhere near enough as they lost 25-15.

The third and final period was another blast, and the visitors had a slim lead in the first half. After being tied at 13 points midway through the game, Weeki Wachee extended her lead to five points on two errors from Springstead and two consecutive points on efforts from junior DS Naomi Loparo.

Just when it looked like it was over, the Eagles pulled off five straight points, thanks in part to three errors by the Hornets. Then, with the score tied at 18-18, Clark’s side locked up and threw away the key while scoring 7 of the next 10 points to win 25-21 and send their cross-county rivals home early.

Despite the result, Coach Gracey feels that “our program is built for this” as they’ve seen plenty of strong hitters (including their own Emily Miller). Her girls may just need a little more experience. As evidenced by the two aforementioned sophomores in key roles, the Eagles coach has a young team on her hands. It’s not just because of the finishing. Injuries and illnesses are common, she noted.

“They’re ninth and 10th graders, young girls trying to figure it out, but that’s the future of this program,” coach Gracey said. “That’s what makes it so exciting, so we’ve got to build on that tonight and learn from it.”

Coach Clark and his team wanted to get into a rhythm and seemed to have found it on Tuesday. Clark believes her team can “go up a couple more levels,” but the game against Springstead was a step in the right direction. The Hornets will look to continue to gain cohesion in their game against Hernando on Thursday, while the Eagles hope to see similar improvements when they host the same Leopards team next week.