Eau Gallie wins five-game battle

BY EMILY BARNETT
FLORIDA TODAY  10/20/06

MELBOURNE - In a long, hard-fought five-game battle for the Class 6A, District 6 title, Eau Gallie High School went home the winners Thursday night, beating Melbourne 21-25, 25-22, 29-31, 25-16, 16-14.

"This win means a lot because Tuesday we play at home, and at home, we're undefeated," said Eau Gallie coach Callie Harding.

"These girls are not just great athletes, but are really good people," Harding said.

Melbourne came out strong to win game one 25-21 as Summer Hill ended the game with an enormous kill from the right side.

In the second game, Melbourne came back to tie it 22-22 after being down 22-16. The Bulldogs were unable to take it any further, and Eau Gallie won game 2 25-22 on an ace by Arielle Parnell.

Mel-Hi's Catie Nunez finally ended an extra-long game 3 with a kill to put Melbourne up 31-29.

Game 4 went to Eau Gallie 25-16 as Melbourne lost some momentum. Neither team was up by more than one point for most of game 5, but Amanda Graham from Eau Gallie dumped the ball in a huge hole to win game 5 16-14.

MCC 9-3A runner up.

Melbourne Central Catholic (17-9) finished as Class 3A District 9 runner up to John Carroll (23-3) in a tough five-game match Thursday night.

"It was a defensive war, you could tell by the number of digs," said MCC coach Bonnie Priester. "It was exciting and fun to watch and my kids left it on the court."

Digging deep for MCC was Jules Vasquez 31 digs, Jourdan Sanscrainte had 30, Kelly Drack 22, Rachel Priester 18 and Elizabeth Leggett 12.

Drack and Sanscrainte each had 10 kills, and Priester had 27 assists.

"I'm really proud of them," Bonnie Priester said.

The Hustlers play their first regional match on the Tuesday against the Disctrict 10 winner.

8-1A battle tonight.

No. 1 seed Merritt Island Christian will play Temple Christian for the District 8-1A title tonight at 7.

Temple Christian beat No. 3 Covenant Christian in three games on Thursday night. Merritt Island Christian defeated Brevard Christian, 25-6, 25-8, 25-13.

Stangs win 13-4A.

Merritt Island defended its Class 4A, District 13 title by defeating Astronaut 25-14, 25-21, 25-20.

Crystal Niederriter led the Mustangs with 13 kills, 7 blocks and an ace

"The game went well, the whole team played well together," said Merritt Island coach Angie Patrick. "Astronaut gave us a good final match."

The Mustangs will host defending state champion Sun Coast on Tuesday in the opening round of regional play.