Pirates volleyball fights off flu, Canes

BRADENTON — Braden River’s volleyball team is sick.  Sick as in slang for good, exhibited by the Pirates’ 3-1 win over host Manatee on Wednesday night that upped their record to 8-2.  Sick, as in, well ... sick.

The flu bug has bitten Braden River, infecting five players on the varsity roster and three more on the junior varsity team.

“Everyone’s sick,” said junior Kaleigh Jaco, one of the under-the-weather Pirates. “Everybody’s coughing.”

Nonetheless, the Pirates managed to soldier on Wednesday, defeating the Hurricanes 25-21, 18-25, 25-9, 25-11, furthering the notion that this Braden River volleyball team may be a special one.

Hatched in 2005 along with the high school, the Pirates have made consecutive trips to the regional tournament — they advanced to the regional semifinals last season before getting bumped out by Arcadia DeSoto, the eventual Class 4A state runner-up — but have yet to win a district title.

It’s a tide the ’09 edition is looking to turn.

“We have younger girls on the team, but we mesh very well,” said Jaco, who finished with four blocks.

Coach Steve Haugh, in his first year on Braden River’s sideline, has inserted a quicker-paced offense, fueling the Pirates toward big leads in Game 3 (8-0) and 4 (20-10).

“They’ve been working very hard. We’ve brought a lot of new stuff to them,” he said. “It’s a special group.”

Special sums up Wednesday’s performance by Lauren Powell, who finished with six kills even though Haugh said she was one of the sicker players on the floor.

“It’s pretty tough,” Haugh said. “The flu has just taken over our team a little bit ... They’re trying — the kids are showing up, they’re still getting to school. They’re just not at their best right now.”

Brittany Jaco had nine kills, and Kelly Shiels had 17 digs for the Pirates.

Manatee (2-7) rebounded from its Game 1 loss and led the whole way in Game 2. The third and fourth games, however, belonged to Braden River.

“After the second game, I thought they would have kept on rolling through,” said Canes coach Jessica Hinkle. “We’re just a team that can’t allow ourselves to get down ... They’re not able to at this time. I think eventually, they will be able to.”

Hailey Hall had nine kills and two aces, Taylor Jones had six kills, and Sarah Howard added three for Manatee.