Central aims for Armwood

The Class 5A, District 7 Tournament did not go the way Central High wanted. But it went well enough.

The Lady Bears dropped the district championship match against Ocala-Forest on Thursday night, falling short after nearly rallying back from a 0-2 hole, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10.

As the top seed in that tournament, Central (13-8) had greater aspirations than accepting the runner-up trophy.

However, at the very least the Lady Bears did earn their first regional berth since 2006 and can now turn their focus to Tuesday's Region II quarterfinal at 5A-8 champ Seffner-Armwood.

"We're not playing real well at the moment," first-year Central Head Coach Emily Gore said. "We've got to have a strong day of practice Monday and get some things figured out.

"But the girls are still in it mentally. They want to win and go on. The girls are disappointed but I think they're still trying. We had a team meeting on Friday and talked about some things. They were their usual selves. They bounce back quick."

Tough task

In Armwood, the Lady Bears face a 15-1 team, the one loss coming early in the season against Brandon.

"We know that they have one really strong player who has over 300 kills," Gore said. "From what I've read, she's pretty much their team. We know we have to maybe not shut her down, but limit her."

That player is Emilee Taylor, the Lady Hawks' senior captain who has posted 310 kills this year, nine alone in the decisive fifth game of the 5A-8 title match versus Newsome.

No one else on the team has more than 75, and she also paced the club by far in aces with 72 and digs (77).

Though making the hour trip south to face Taylor and company in their own gym would seem like a tough task, Gore doesn't want her players satisfied with going one-and-done.

"I think if we play our game, it'll be a good match," Gore said. "But we just have to play well. We're very confident. They're going to have the home-court advantage and it's tough to play on the road in the playoffs.

"I told the girls it's win or go home. That's kind of our mentality. We're not happy just being in the playoffs. We'd like to win and advance."

AT A GLANCE
WHAT: 2009 Class 5A, Region II quarterfinal
WHO: Central Lady Bears (13-8, 5A-7 runners-up) vs. Seffner-Armwood Lady Hawks (15-1, 5A-8 champions).
WHEN: Nov. 3
WHERE: Seffner-Armwood gym.
AT STAKE: Winning team advances to the Nov. 10 5A-II semifinals
DIRECTIONS: Take Interstate 75 south toward Tampa to Interstate 4. Take I-4 east; get off on exit 10 (Mango). Merge onto County Road 579. Turn left on Hillsborough Avenue. The school will be on the left.