Tied 2-2, the girls varsity volleyball team was in the fifth set of their match against Osceola. The score was 14-11, game point for the girls. Libero Mayte Camacho threw the ball in the air for a jump serve.
Ace. Game over.
Osceola was one of the teams Hagerty played last year on the way to the state runner-up finish. Like a lot of teams Hagerty has beaten recently, Osceola really wanted to win.
“We realized what we had to lose so we picked it up after losing the first set. They wanted to beat us and thought they would, so it felt great winning against them,” Camacho said.
Osceola came close, but in the end could not pull the upset. They won the first and the fourth sets (25-15, 25-23), and the girls won the second, third and fifth sets (28-26, 25-17, 15-11) for the Sept. 25 match. Outside hitters Abby Mas and Jeness Orcutt led the team in kills (23,18). Setter Brielle Mullen had 57 assists and Camacho had 28 serve receives.
The team has had a running win-streak, and that includes dominating all of the teams from Seminole County. Hagerty played Lake Mary and won 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-17), where Mullen had 20 assists and Camacho had 13 digs and 24 serve receives.
“Our biggest strength throughout the season is being player-led,” coach Juanita Hitt said. “They take accountability and they do a great job when we need to make adjustments.”
The team’s streak sparked from their 3-0 sweep against Oviedo (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) on Sept. 2. Camacho had 15 digs and blank serve receives, Mullen had 38 assists and Mas had 16 kills during the game.
Hagerty has had the upper hand against Oviedo the past couple of seasons, and even close matches a year ago have turned into sweeps this year.
“Beating Oviedo was definitely our best win so far this season,” designated server Mina Stephens said. “With it being a rival game, it was an important win for us and we had the most energy during the game.”
But even with the 3-0 sweeps, the team is still looking to improve and build for the postseason. The girls won against Lake Brantley, 3-0, but almost lost the third set having to make up a 10 point deficit. Even for their win against Seminole 3-0 (25-14, 30-28, 25-21), the girls were not satisfied with their performance.
“We were able to pull the win off but it was way closer than it should have been,” Camacho said. “We call these types of games hangovers because we play a fantastic game but then the next day, when we play teams like Seminole, we are exhausted.”
Their toughest test of the season so far was in the Nike TOC tournament, on Sept. 1, where they went 4-2. They won against Calvary Christian, 2-0, Venice, 2-0, Oviedo, 2-0, and Clovis, 2-0. They lost to Timber Creek, 2-1, and Winter Park, 2-0.
The girls lost to Venice, 3-1, last year in the state semifinal, so it was important for them to win against them this year. During this tournament they had a three set format, so the team had less time to play their games.
“Because it did not go as many sets we had a lot more energy while we were playing,” Mullen said.
Despite all of the wins, they had a couple of tough losses throughout the earlier part of the season. They lost to Timber Creek in the Nike tournament and Winter Park, 3-2, in the regular season. They hope to see both of these teams again on the road to the playoffs.
“We will be successful,” Hitt said. “With both Winter Park and Timber Creek being in our district it will be a hard path, but I am hopeful we will make it as far as we did last year.”
The team hopes their tough schedule and familiarity with the state tournament is what it takes to capture a title this season.
“Winning this year would mean a lot more to us because of how close we got last year,” Schwartz said. “We are hungry for the win.”
