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Tigers Escape

Staff photo by DAVE CASEY

Fox Chapel Middle School’s Halie Werkmeister digs this shot against upset-minded Powell Thursday night in Spring Hill. Fox Chapel remained unbeaten (4-0) with a narrow 25-13, 21-25, 15-13 nod over the Lady Panthers.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: September 12, 2008

SPRING HILL - At the conclusion of Thursday night's Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference volleyball match at Fox Chapel, the unbeaten Lady Tigers continued their upstart season, improving to 4-0.
But for any of the vocal fans in attendance, Fox Chapel nearly fell victim to winless Powell.
The Lady Panthers, in their finest match of the season, barely went down, 25-13, 21-25, 15-13.
Despite Powell's winless mark, Head Coach Maria Dumas praised her squad's moxy especially after an outstanding 50-of-53 effort (94 percent) from the service line.
"This was absolutely our best match all year," pointed out Dumas. "The kids played their hearts out. It's like they stopped playing scared. Tonight, we competed. The rest of the season has been gimmes."
Chandler Ross paced the visitors with a perfect 13-of-13 serving effort worth 12 points. Briana Baugher added 11 markers on an 11-for-11 outing while Hailey Drawe chipped in 10 points.
Fox Chapel Head Coach Vanessa Ferrier was led by Marisa Welch's match-high 23 points on 22-of-24 serves while Kayla Montealegre, who turns 14 on Friday, received an early birthday present with 10 points.
"They (Powell} played so well," insisted Coach Ferrier on Powell's hustle and desire. "They played an amazing second set and the momentum kinda carried over. We definitely sunk down a little bit after the first set. And yeah, maybe we didn't play our best game, I'm still so proud of this group. It's an outstanding bunch of girls."
Despite playing with a bandaged right (jammed) wrist, Welch was not making excuses.
"We took it as hard as we could," said the 13-year-old freckled faced Welch. "But they (Powell) played hard. The difference was we kept it together."
"Tonight was kinda an early birthday present," smiled Montealegre. "I'd rather win the match than anything else. Tonight, they (Powell) put up a challenge. I think we could have played better. Maybe we got a little too over confident after winning the first game."

Broom time

Prior to the varsity contest, Powell (2-2) kept Fox Chapel's jayvee's winless (0-4) thanks to a hard fought 25-22, 25-20 triumph. Kelsey Pasquelichio led the hosts with 10 points.
Winning coach Heather Arnold commented, "We did a lot of fundamentals (since Monday's match against Parrott): a lot of net work and a lot of serving. We're really trying to build that bond on the floor.
"Right now, it's a process, but it's coming," added Arnold. "It's a good win because it boosts our morale for next week."
Kaitlyn Glynn led all scorers with 16 points for the Tigers while Haleigh McDuff added 12 markers.
Despite the setback, Fox Chapel JV mentor Erin Brown was pleased with the effort.
"Most of these girls have never played volleyball before," she remarked. "But you can see it, they're getting better. We're working on improving every match.
"Our big thing is communication on the court – that's where we are struggling," she added. "The second item is serving. But we've come a long way."

Varsity: Fox Chapel 2, Powell 1
1 2 3
Powell 13 25 13
Fox Chapel 25 21 15
Records - Powell (0-4 overall), Fox Chapel (4-0).

Junior Varsity: Parrott 2, Fox Chapel 0
1 2
Fox Chapel 22 20
Powell 25 25
Records - Powell (2-2 overall), Fox Chapel (0-4).

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

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