Spring Hill, FL – On Tuesday night, the Springstead Eagles (7-9) downed the Citrus Hurricanes (10-8) in 4 sets at the Eagles’ Nest. After jumping out to a quick two set advantage, Head Coach Andrea Gracey’s squad navigated the harsh winds of the third and proved how much they have grown with a gutsy performance in the final frame.
“I think the definition of our entire season has been mental toughness […] I have a lot of young girls on the team and they’re figuring it out,” Coach Gracey said. “I’m proud how quick that they’re snapping out of it instead of having it be a back-end sweep or losing. So, coming out with the momentum game 1 and 2, that’s what we’ve really been working on the last couple of weeks, and it shows in all of our progress.”
The first pair of frames went smoothly for the home team as they gained sizable leads in both and held on to win 25-15 in each. Senior Rylynn Lanziero contributed heavily throughout the night and is the only senior to “[keep] the girls calm, cool, and collected,” and she would go on to bookend the victory with her play.
In the game’s opening period, with her team up 4 points early, she notched 4 of her team’s next 5 points (2 kills, 2 aces) to give the Eagles a 13-5 lead that they would maintain to the end. With her team in a dogfight in the fourth frame, she blasted a kill between Citrus defenders to finish the match and avoid a dreaded fifth set. Coach Gracey is proud of the heavy-hitting veteran’s leadership this season.
Springstead’s coach also praised Junior Kat Schrade who had one of her strongest stretches of the evening during the final period. With her team chipping away at what was once a 12-7 deficit, she blasted a trio of kills to earn 3 of her team’s 5 points during that span (with Lanziero adding 1 of those). Though it was slim, she helped her team retake a 14-13 advantage that would be narrowly preserved through to the 25-22 victory.
“Our middles tonight, especially Kat, we were able to run middles in critical offense,” said Coach Gracey. “I think that threw them for a loop. People are used to us running pins, pins, pins, but we really put pressure on that set four. We got to run our middles more and Kat really stepped up.”
Citrus showed bright spots throughout, namely with the strong arm of Senior OH Sophie Wood and the savvy play of Senior OH Rainie Grace Summers. Though it did not quite translate to wins, it would all come together for set 3. Coming off two sets where the home team coasted to victory, the Hurricanes outscored the Eagles 21-6 during a stretch in the third. For the most part, though, the Eagles’ defense held strong against Wood’s high-powered spikes.
That was by design, as Coach Gracey works with her team on getting players like Wood “out of her system where it is harder to take it to attack and maybe see an error.” Springstead’s coach continued, “Our defense is really picking up where we’re prepared for those big heavy hitters in our Gulf Coast 8 Conference. So, definitely was not nervous one bit on our defense.”
Coach Gracey will look for her team to continue to build their mental toughness in their next showdown against Keswick Christian. The Red, White, and Blue will host the Crusaders on Monday evening.
