Volleyball

The Central Bears volleyball team was so close to a win, but fell short two points at the end of set 5 when they faced Crystal River Tuesday night Sept. 10, 2019. 

Earlier in the season, the team has faced strong contenders like Lecanto, Nature Coast Tech and Springstead. The girls have produced some pretty good competitive sets thus far. According to Coach Nikki LaRiviere, the team's talent is there, but it's about how they are executing their competitive level facing their opponents. 

Article and Photography by Alice Mary Herden

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. --- The aspirations of visitors to elude Hernando Christian Academy of a victory-is a flirtation with disaster.  That's been true for most of HCA's season so far.  Heading into the game against Seven Rivers on Thursday Aug. 29, 2019 after beating Meadowbrook on Tuesday (3-1) their record was 4 and 0.  For Seven Rivers though, disaster did not strike in the Lions' Den. 

Article and Photography by ALICE MARY HERDEN

Hernando Sun Reporter

Springstead’s Andrea Kneser takes a win to mark the start of girls volleyball season against Crystal River. She prepared her team, she re-introduced the necessary skills and drills and found more than she hoped.

“We prepared a lot in practice and running an effective offensive, and I really think the girls are starting to get the hang of that," Andrea said. "I want to be the best serve-receive team in the county."

Tuesday night August 20, 2019 in the Shark Tank- Nature Coast welcomes the Hernando Leopards for a game of girls volleyball.  Once again this year’s head coaches are, for the Leopards: Robin Bailey and for the Sharks: Emily Gore. Two dedicated and fierce coaches to go up against. For both sides there is a packed house plus cheering sections. The game begins when both powerhouse teams step onto the court, the cheering sections go wild. A few plays throughout the night were as follows:  Nature Coast is the first team to put points on the board. 

BROOKSVILLE- The last time Central’s varsity volleyball team won a game was back on October 1st of 2015. 

Fast forward to this season and the Bears are finally back in the win column. It was quite a bit of time from when Central won a match and Bears coach Nikki LaRiviere has endured a tough campaign, but picking up a 3-1 win versus Hernando Christian Academy a week and half ago has made the program optimistic about a potential turnaround sooner rather than later. 

1. Nature Coast (13-1): Can anyone slow down Emily Gore’s Sharks? Nature Coast is currently on a roll and the team’s only blemish on the season is a 2-0 loss to Lakeland Lake Gibson at the Bishop McLaughlin tournament. The Sharks have a real shot at finishing 21-1 on the season.

PHSC Women’s Volleyball participates in three tournaments during the 2018 season. Their first invitational tournament was in August resulting in 3 wins and 1 loss at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. 

“It was a tough tournament at Hillsborough. We were the only Division 2 school that played there, we were the underdogs coming in,” Newton said. “It was great to come out strong, play hard and to play schools we don’t usually play.”

With the long summer off-season officially over in Hernando County, the focus now switches over to the fall sports, which features football, swimming and volleyball. The county showcases some of the area’s top volleyball squads, with Nature Coast, Springstead and Weeki Wachee all entering the 2018 campaign as viable district contenders. We take a closer look at each of the county’s teams and preview Hernando County volleyball 2018.