North Port play second bandana to Charlotte

As a way to show team unity, North Port volleyball players Shelby Luck and Kaitlyn Jaeger embroidered personalized bandanas for their teammates, complete with name and number. They sure looked good. If only they could have played that way.

The Lady Bobcats learned a tough lesson on team unity on the floor. Charlotte was nearly flawless as they drubbed North Port in straight sets Tuesday night in Punta Gorda, 25-14, 25-14, 25-17.

Charlotte (2-1) played impeccable defense and blistered the Lady Bobcats for 45 service points in the best all-around effort so far this year.

No bandanas for the blue and gold, just a solid victory where North Port never threatened and everyone contributed.

Charlotte head coach Michelle Dill believes the best is yet to come for her young Lady Tarpons.

"I expect us to get better as the year goes on," Dill said. "Our tough serves really held us together tonight. We were hitting our spots."

In a night of stars, it was sophomore Alyssa Latham who was the star of stars with three services aces, six kills, 30 assists and 11 digs.

"It feels good to win," Latham said of her Magic Johnson-esque performance. "I feel more confident and I'm learning to love defense. We worked real hard this week. It was a good team effort."

Taylor Mack led Charlotte with 14 digs and added six kills. Skylar LeMaster had 10 digs and teamed with Mack as fierce servers.

Abbie Conde and Janhea Beisner had seven kills, Alexis Jones had six, and Katie McCarthy had five.

Charlotte was never seriously threatened by North Port (1-2) as they jumped to an early 8-2 lead. After North Port chipped away to make it 12-9. Charlotte went on a 13-2 run to finish the game. McCarthy served six straight points while Mack served the game out at 20-14.

Game 2 was pretty much the same, with the Tarpons serving the ball down North Port's throats. Mack and LeMaster produced long service runs to give Charlotte a 21-9 lead before coasting to the win.

Game 3 was the only time North Port put things together, trailing only 17-16 before an 8-1 Charlotte run closed things out. Beisner ran off six straight service points to turn a close game into the match.

"Our passing got a little shaky in that third game," Dill said. "But we got better. It was good to get the group together."

By contrast, North Port head coach Becky Halbert had to wonder what team was out there.

"I didn't recognize them," Halbert said, with the bandanas having nothing to do with it. "That's not the way we play. Our service returns were not very strong. We had a lack of focus."

Among the few bright spots were the junior hitter Jaeger, who served seven points with two aces. Senior Jessica Fox had 13 digs, while Adrienne Moreno had five kills.

by CHUCK  BALLARO