One Moore Knockout

In spite of a dominating regular season that buoyed talk of advancing through the state playoffs, Nature Coast Technical stalled out early once again.

The Lady Sharks fell in the regional quarterfinals for the fifth straight season, getting swept for the third time in four years at Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic, 25-17, 25-13, 25-19.

"We should have played heads up with this team and it should have been a minimum 4-5 game match, and yet we just gave it to them," Nature Coast Head Coach Dan Murphy said. "We've got to want it and not only want it but take it and we didn't want it enough to take it."

Initially it appeared Nature Coast (24-4) would provide something it could not in its two previous regional losses at Bishop Moore (22-7): a competitive match.

The Lady Sharks hung close in the opening game, though the Lady Hornets built a 13-9 lead on back-to-back kills by Madison Monserez and an ace by Denise Dearman.

The 6-foot-3 Dearman recorded five blocks in the game and seemed to frustrate the Lady Sharks at the net to the point of unraveling.

From the end of the first game through the start of the second, Bishop Moore scored 12 straight points, taking a commanding 7-0 edge in the second. Alex Livengood and Randi Roppolo combined for five kills early in the third, but again Nature Coast just couldn't get out in front and keep the Lady Hornets from pulling away.
Aside from committing uncharacteristic unforced errors, the Lady Sharks could never find an answer for the hitting of Monserez. The sophomore recorded 14 kills.
"Nature Coast had a very good record," Bishop Moore Head Coach Tanya Jarvis said. "They're always in the regional tournament. We know we're going to face them sometime down the road. We knew it would be a competitive match and I'm very happy that we came out so aggressive."
Livengood had 10 kills for Nature Coast, which looked shaky in its final three postseason matches, losing twice after dropping only two matches in the regular season.
"We need to play a stronger schedule," Murphy said. "I don't care if we lose half our matches in the season. I look to push for a much stronger schedule next year.
"We've got some good teams in our district but we need to stretch more than we are with the rest of the district. If we want to go into states or do anything we have to earn it in the early part of the season.
"It's a very big disappointment for me. I know this team is capable of more things than we did and I let them down. I didn't push them hard enough."

BISHOP MOORE 3, NATURE COAST 0
1 2 3
NCT 17 13 19
BM 25 25 25
Records: Nature Coast (24-4), Orlando-Bishop Moore (22-7).