2009 Top 10

MARTIN COUNTY — Lori McCaughey knows what it takes to win a state volleyball title.

The South Fork teacher was a senior middle/outside hitter on Martin County’s 1994 championship team. After watching this year’s Martin County and Jensen Beach teams — each headed to the state finals this week — McCaughey thinks both could win titles.

“I think they have everything they need, mentally and physically,” said McCaughey, who also coaches many of the Falcons and Tigers players during the club volleyball season.

Martin County (29-1) meets Lithia-Newsome (22-7) in the Class 5A semifinals 8 p.m. Wednesday, and Jensen Beach (25-5) faces Hudson (25-3) in the Class 4A semifinals 8 p.m. Friday.

McCaughey, whose name was Lori Gribben in high school, said winning a state title comes down to focus and passion.

“You’ve got to love the game,” McCaughey said. “A lot of teams are playing not to lose, but at a state championship, you have to get out there to play every time. All the distractions, you have to dismiss them and be focused on the task at hand.

“And you have to have a group of girls who can do that together.”  Martin County coach Marty Bielicki believes the passion he sees in his girls now parallels the 1994 team. Bielicki also sees other similarities.

“Both were extremely athletic,” Bielicki said. “We both lost a game, which helped us learn about ourselves. The team GPA was very high, we had senior leadership, and there’s no question that has a lot to do with the drive of both teams.

“We’ve been behind and able to come back and win the match. We had a dominating player Emily Suter, who was the 5A Player of the Year, and this year, Elise Walch, but also a lot of people surrounding them, like Lori (McCaughey).”

It’s easy for Jensen Beach to find similarities in its one championship team in 2007 because some of those players are still on the team, such as middle hitters Brittany Tiegs and Molly Alexander, libero Tracie Johnson and setter Sarah Wickstrom.

Though the Falcons don’t have the hard-hitting Brett Benzio from that 2007 team, McCaughey said they have athletic players who appear to have a good chemistry.

“The girls on both those teams are amazing players,” McCaughey said. “For such a small town to have two of the three teams in Martin County going on to state championships, that says a lot about the volleyball in this area. Hopefully that happens many more times in the future, but it’s really kind of unheard of for a small town to have this many talented players.”

McCaughey said Martin County’s success started building in the early 1990s when club volleyball took off. Many of the players from her graduating class of 1995 started playing club as sophomores and by the time they were seniors, it pushed them over the top for a state championship.

Martin County has come close to adding a second title twice, losing to Olympic Heights in the 6A final in 1997 and to Durant in the 5A final two years later.

The Tigers’ streak of 20 consecutive regional appearances is the third-longest in state history.

Jensen Beach, which opened in 2004, has never missed a trip to the postseason.

McCaughey hopes the two teams can relive her 1994 experience.

“It was really unbelievable,” McCaughey said. “I can’t even put it into words.”

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