Newsome hits end of road

LAKELAND - There weren't any tears and they didn't hang their heads.

After losing to Stuart Martin County, the 10th-ranked team in the nation, in the Class 5A state semifinals Wednesday by scores of 25-14, 25-16, 25-15, the Newsome volleyball players walked off the court at The Lakeland Center with their heads held high.

Before this season, Newsome's volleyball program had never won a playoff match. Reaching the state tournament was a goal the players set the first day of practice. Although they will not bring home a state title, as far as they are concerned, mission accomplished.

"This was a dream season," senior middle hitter Hillary Byrd said. "We worked for every point to get here."

Senior outside hitter Lauren Zellmer led Newsome (19-9) with eight kills and seven digs. Byrd had a team-high four blocks, and senior setter Nicole Lafita had 16 assists. Senior Elise Walch led Martin County with 19 kills and five blocks. Younger sister Nicole Walch had nine kills for the Tigers (30-1), who face Tallahassee Leon in the final tonight at 7.

Martin County took a 14-2 lead in Game 1, the majority of its point coming by Newsome errors. The Wolves finished the match with 23 non-serving errors, including 10 in Game 1.

"The first game, we didn't come out with a whole lot of confidence," first-year Newsome coach Kate Correa said. "We kind of had a little bit of jitters. We didn't give ourselves credit for being here."

In Game 2, Newsome led 3-2 and went point-for-point with the state's top 5A team, tying the game at 10 and 15. After awhile, Newsome wasn't intimidated.

"It felt like a normal team," Zellmer said, "like we were going to play Armwood again."

However, Martin County ended the game with a 10-1 run, and its double-digit lead was too much for Newsome to overcome in Game 3.

"I'm proud of my girls for going in there and (they) kept going," Correa said. "They didn't give up after those big, hard hits."