The names, faces and numbers were the same ones Merritt Island Christian's volleyball team was familiar with.
The effectiveness by The Geneva School, however, was not. MIC was therefore pushed hard Saturday afternoon before the Cougars stood strong and earned a repeat trip to this week's state tournament in Lakeland by defeating the Knights 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 in the Class 1A, Region 2 final.
Although the Cougars (24-6) beat Geneva both times this season in four sets, this time the seniorless Knights were harder to top, MIC coach Laurie Haines said. The loss of Saturday's first set was the first for MIC in five postseason matches.
The Cougars finally prevailed when senior Erica Robes batted down a floating ball near the net to end the 98-minute match that was played before a loud crowd of about 250 in MIC's small, nearly packed gym. MIC found itself at one juncture down 18-16 in the third set before rallying.
The victory boosts the Cougars into a Friday afternoon state semifinal against one-loss Warner Christian. MIC played Warner during the season, losing in four sets on a neutral floor. The state tournament is being played at The Lakeland Center.
"We have our work cut out," Haines said. "But from winning a set, we know we can beat (Warner)."
Geneva played as if it felt the same way Saturday toward the Cougars. The Knights started three freshmen, yet shoved MIC from the start. In fact, Geneva scored just one fewer point than MIC in the match.
Haines said one critical aspect of her team's victory was defense. That effort was led by senior libero Haleigh Campbell's 22 digs. Junior Stephanie Quinn added 16 digs and Kacie Paulk 10.
"I was worried in the first game," Haines said.
The state tournament berth is also the Cougars' third in the past five seasons. MIC is still looking for its first win in the final four.