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Hernando Today

As Cannon Fires, Panthers Plucked

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: September 9, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - After committing nine service errors in the first game, Parrott Middle School's junior varsity volleyball appeared destined for its first setback of the season Monday afternoon at Powell.

Parrott's forgettable 16-of-25 serving effort in the first set enabled Powell to win 25-19.

After that, however, sixth grader Sierra Cannon tallied 15 of her match-high 17 points to pace a Purple and Gold JV comeback, 19-25, 25-5, 15-4.

Seventh-graders Arianna Tankersley and Caitlin Bainum each chipped in 14 and 10 points respectively to help Coach Stacy McCalla's team improve to 3-0 while Powell dipped to 1-2 overall.

Broom time

After a 44-minute JV match, Parrott needed 40 minutes to wrap up a sweep behind a 25-16, 25-12 varsity triumph.

Unlike their JV counterparts, Parrott's varsity (2-1) connected on 42-of-48 serves (match-high 88 percent) to hand Powell it's third loss in three matches.

Laura Hernandez paced Parrott's varsity squad with 15 points while Eboni Plummer and Nicole Cicero each added 10 markers.

"It was a huge win," explained the 13-year-old Hernandez. "The big thing for us is to stay motivated. We've worked on our serving since the loss (in three sets in season-opener to West Hernando)."

Plummer, a multiple sport athlete, added three kills from the net.

"I thought we all did good today," smiled 14-year-old Plummer. "We all just wanted concentrate and listen to the coaches."

Veteran Parrott Head Coach Valerie Curren was most impressed with her team's spirit de corps.

"The thing I like most about this team is if anyone makes a mistake, nobody hangs their head," she remarked. "This group plays very well together. It has good chemistry. I'd give us an "A" tonight."

What's the key for the Leopards?

"If they don't serve, they won't play," matter-of-frankly stated Curren. "And you've got to have consistency."

From the home sideline, Powell Head Coach Maria Dumas pointed to her team's lack of passing and poor serve reception.

"We're searching for a passing game right now," summed up Dumas. "Our setters are pretty good. But we can't have them running all over the place.

"The key tonight? We could not communicate," lamented Dumas. "Bottom line, we couldn't get the ball to the target. We're going back to practice tomorrow and start on fundamentals."

Cannon fires

Cannon explained how the JV Leopards went from nine service errors in the first set to connecting on 35-of-40 serves across the next two sets to solve the Panthers.

"At first we were all doing real bad (serving)," shared the 11-year-old Cannon. "Coach kept telling us to get our pride up and don't get down."

Bainum added, "I think we kinda came in with big heads. That first game (loss) kinda woke us all up," said the 13-year-old. "The key for us tonight was our passing and serving. A (come-from-behind) win boosts our confidence."
"I think a lot of girls thought we'd just show up and win tonight," dispensed McCalla. "That's not how it works. I don't care who you are, if you can't serve, you can't win.
"And our passing was poor, too," added McCalla. "After the first game, I told the girls, they had two games left to pull this out. The big thing was to just settle down. A win like this really helps (our confidence) especially with Challenger coming in Thursday."

Varsity: Parrott 2, Powell 0
1 2
Parrott 16 12
Powell 25 25
Records - Parrott (2-1 overall), Powell (0-3 overall).

Junior Varsity: Parrott 2, Powell 1
1 2 3
Parrott 19 25 15
Powell 25 7 4
Records - Parrott (3-0 overall), Powell (1-2 overall).

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at (352) 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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