Merritt Island Christian wins District 7 volleyball title

BY BRIAN McCALLUM
FLORIDA TODAY

TITUSVILLE - Next year might be the year for Temple Christian, but Thursday night belonged to Merritt Island Christian, just as the previous two meetings between these high school volleyball teams had.

The Cougars won the Class 1A, District 7 volleyball title Thursday, posed for photos and looked toward their next opponent.

MIC coach Laurie Haines will be on hand tonight at the St. Cloud Civic Center for the District 8 championship match. Her team, now 24-2, will get the loser at MIC next Tuesday. Temple Christian will take its 10-11 record on the road to face the District 8 winner.

"Yes, they're that good," Temple Christian coach Faye Maynard said of MIC after the Lions lost, 25-7, 25-16, 25-17. "They are the team to beat. I do expect next year that we will be, but right now we have a very young team."

Temple Christian had a freshman and three sophomores starting in the title game. The Cougars started three sophomores as well, but had a distinct height and power advantage, dominating all three games.

"We're playing well," Haines said. "We started to struggle a couple of weeks ago. Some of our kids weren't healthy, but we're starting to build back up."

The struggle included one of the team's two losses, to Merritt Island.

Haines had all but one injured player back against Temple Christian, and everybody played. She substituted without worry of costing her team, and a variety of players delivered.

Stephanie Quinn had 15 digs and 15 assists, while Erica Robes showed a powerful attack and led with 10 kills. MIC's service game was strong throughout, but Quinn and Bailey Scott stood out with five and four aces, respectively.

When the Lions got within 13-11 in the second game, it was Quinn who stepped up with a strong serving string. Scott helped put the first game out of reach with a run of laser-guided serves.

"We played consistently," Haines said. "I thought we were in control all night."

Rebekah Maynard led Temple Christian with five kills, two blocks and six digs.