Tarpons tame Manatee in 4

PUNTA GORDA - Michelle Dill saw something in her team she had not seen before. Persistence. And it could not have come at a better time. Deadlocked at a game apiece with Manatee High, the Charlotte High volleyball team staved off three game points before pulling out the third game. The Tarpons completed their comeback with a 14-25, 25- 13, 30-28, 25-22 victory over the Hurricanes in the quarterfinal round of the Class 5A-District 10 tournament Saturday at Wally Keller Gym. The fourth-seeded Tarpons (14-8) earn a trip Tuesday to Venice for a shot at the top-seeded Indians in the semifinals. "I didn't see it earlier," said Dill, Charlotte's first-year coach. "If we lost, we lost in three." Playing their finest match of the season, according to coach Jessica Hinkle, Manatee opened a 24-22 lead and threatened to go up two games to one. "You win the third game, now you're rolling, you're on fire," Hinkle said. "You lose that third game, it's hard to recover from, because you're one loss from a loss. That's a sign of immaturity." Charlotte needed five game points to finally put away the fifth-seeded Hurricanes (7-19). The Tarpons also overcame a 10-5 deficit in Game 4, killing Manatee softly with setter tips by Alyssa Latham. In their toughest practice of the season Friday, Hinkle warned the 'Canes against such action. She played the setter on the scout team. "I was 100 percent, so it makes sense," Hinkle said. "The setting dumps killed us. That's not how you want to remember the last match you played that you got killed on tips." Manatee received 14 kills, 15 digs and two aces from junior Hailey Hall, 15 digs and three aces from senior libero Paige Pierro, five kills, three digs and three aces from senior Shelby Knox and four kills, four aces and three digs from freshman Rachel Drummey, playing her first varsity match. "This has been a difficult team, growing pains," Hinkle said. "No returning starters, only three returning players. That's not an excuse; it's just reality." The Tarpons got nine kills, three blocks and an ace from Abi Conde, nine kills from Taylor Mack, five kills and five aces from JaNhea Beisner and five kills and two blocks from Alexis Jones to earn a trip to Venice.