State finals new experience for Bell, Santa Fe

For the Santa Fe Raiders volleyball team, it has been 42 years since their last state final.

For the Bell Bulldogs, not only have they never reached a state final in volleyball but hasn’t in any sport at the school.

On Friday and Saturday in Fort Myers, Bell and Santa Fe look to make the most of their shot at a state championship.

Bell (24-3), ranked No. 3 by MaxPreps, takes on five-time defending champion Sneads (19-2) for the Class 1A title on Friday at 1 p.m. at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

The following day, the Raiders (26-5), ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps, takes on No. 1 Merritt Island (29-2) for the 6A title at 4 p.m.

“They are a good group of girls,” said Bulldogs coach Lisa Barry. “A lot of them have been here forever.

“Some have relatives that were on the team four years ago that was devastated still by that loss (3-1 to Pierson Taylor). We knew we were going to make a run for it this year.”

Making a deep playoff run was something first-year coach Eric Marshall wanted when he started the season with his Raiders. But the season started at 2-2.

“We didn’t have much of a preseason, and I came in late,” Marshall said. “We played two games with Sneads, the first one there, and we played awful as a team.

“We were a bunch of individuals, not playing well together. It was a wake-up call in that the girls came to practice wanting to know how they could fix it. Five days later they came here and we swept Sneads (its first loss). And we did it in a pretty dominant fashion.”

For Santa Fe, the last three seasons had ended with a loss to Ponte Vedra, and in order to make a deep playoff run, the Raiders would have to get past the Sharks.

They did, and nearly swept them - winning 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-16.

The Raiders then swept their next two opponents - at Hudson Fivay (25-13, 25-15, 25-12) in the regional final and Bishop Kenny (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) in the state semifinals.

“Our main focus was Ponte Vedra, right from the very beginning,” Marshall said. “It has been a really cool thing seeing our school get behind us. The administration has been tremendous in getting behind us.

“We had 90 kids here for the last game (vs. Bishop Kenny), and 81 with us in Hudson. That’s incredible support from the student body.”

The advancement to their first state final since coach Loretta Shane’s Raiders lost the 2A title to Academy of Holy Names from Tampa in 1976 has been exciting for the players and a bit surreal.

“It feels amazing,” said senior Mackenzie Pearson. “Everyone at school is talking about it, the administration is talking about it.

“They are getting buses for our students so they can go. It has been a big deal, and we are really enjoying it.”

Merritt Island has an outstanding outside hitter in Lexy Denaburg (403 kills), who is going to the UCLA outdoor beach program. The Mustangs also have a terrific setter in senior Shae Henson (804 assists).

“I heard they have a really good outside,” said Santa Fe senior outside hitter Heather Pedrick. “One of the travel ball girls I play with is her beach partner, and she said they are very solid.

“It is going to be a good game. We just need to play as a team, just like we have been, and we will be fine.”

“I believe we can do it,” said senior setter Amanda Falck. “We have so many girls that can do so many things.”

While Marshall boldly says his team is better on paper, he knows unless his team can do it on the court it doesn’t matter.

“This will be a new challenge for us,” he said. “We are not only playing a team that is as athletic as we are but a team that is as smart as we are. It will be a chess match between teams, and I think it will come down to errors.

“Our chances of winning - if we play our brand of volleyball - are very good.”

Sneads has been dominant as it has won its five straight titles. A year ago, it swept Union County in the final.

“We know we have to attack,” Barry said. “At this point, we are not thinking about second. We are thinking about winning this thing.

“We are going to attack and see what happens.”

Barry’s daughter, Kylee, was an eighth-grader on that 2014 team. Now, the setter is one of the team’s leaders.

To get to the state final, Bell defeated its rival, Trenton, in a thriller - 25-18, 25-13, 12-25, 22-25, 15-9.

“I’m really excited, I’m glad we are the first ones (of teams at Bell to play in state final), I think we deserve it,” said senior Jenna Holley. “We have nothing to lose (against Sneads).”

“The school is so excited, they have made so many posters,” said Jillian Morgan. “We have like three buses going over, first team to ever play in a state final. We are going to play our best.”