2009 Top 10

LAKELAND — Martin County has been working for a state volleyball title all season, and now the Tigers will get their chance.

After beating Lithia-Newsome, 25-14, 25-16, 25-15, in the Class 5A semifinals Wednesday at the Lakeland Center, the Tigers (30-1) advance to meet Leon (24-5) in the championship on Thursday at 7 p.m. It will mark Martin County’s first state final since 1999, when the team finished runner-up..

“We played a tough schedule. We trained ourselves well to be here for this moment and take advantage of it,” Tigers coach Marty Bielicki said, referring to matches against perennial powers like St. Thomas Aquinas and Tampa Berkley Prep. “I am proud of these girls, and it’s exciting.”

Bielicki had said prior to the match he wasn’t sure if Newsome would be able to handle the hitting power of 6-foot-5 senior Elise Walch and 6-foot-1 sophomore Nicole Walch. He couldn’t have been more right.

The senior Walch had 19 kills and six blocks, while the younger Walch added nine kills and one block.

“Dominating, just dominating, and I think they could have played better,” Bielicki said of the Walch sisters.

Newsome (19-8) was playing in its first Final Four and had never won a regional tournament match until this year, the program’s seventh season.

“They just outplayed us,” Wolves coach Kate Correa said.

Martin County took the first set 25-14 with the help of an 8-0 start during which Elise Walch had three of her kills. Two errors broke up the run before the Tigers reeled off another seven straight points, and they never looked back.

The second set started off in a much different manner. Newsome took the first point and led 3-2 before Martin County gained the lead for good, but the game was tied twice, and it wasn’t until the Tigers broke a 15-15 knot that they regained their focus.

“I feel like we let our guard down a little bit, and we just had to call timeout and get our intensity back,” said senior Lauren Brinskelle, who finished with eight digs and three aces.

The Tigers scored nine straight points to get to match point, then finally ended it on a Molly O’Neil kill. Elise Walch had four kills and a block during that run.

“I remember a couple hard hits coming from the ‘sistas’ at that point, and they definitely took a little steam out of us,” Correa said. “That was intimidating, but I am proud for my girls not giving up.”

Martin County took a 13-1 lead in the third set, which was never in question. The Tigers will now try for the program’s second title after winning 5A in 1994.

“Everyone wants it really bad, and it was great to just come out, and I guess, dominate and push through for tomorrow,” Brinskelle said.

BACK IN THE FINALS

• Martin County’s Marty Bielicki becomes just the second volleyball coach in area history to reach four state finals. His 1994 team won the Class 5A state title. The Tigers lost state finals in 1997 (6A) and 1999 (5A).

• Legendary John Carroll coach Jon Toler took John Carroll to an area-best seven state championship matches, winning 2A state titles in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1987. The Rams lost in 1985 and in 1997, his final match.

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