The third time wasn’t the charm for the Gulf Coast High volleyball team Tuesday night.  The Sharks, playing in their first regional semifinal, were swept 25-15, 25-20, 25-15 by the Venice Indians in Class 5A action.

“We had our moments,” Gulf Coast coach Christy Wright said. “We’re just not as consistent play after play. … It’s still a great season. I’ve got no complaints.”

Gulf Coast finished with more wins than any team in school history at 22-6. And three of its six seniors will continue their careers at the collegiate level as Holly Reschke will play at the University of Tampa, Karina Mambuca will play at Southeastern University and Angie Caple is headed to Lynn University.

Yet none of that made Tuesday night any easier.

The two teams traded points to a 5-4 Venice advantage in the first set, but the Indians seized control with an impressive 9-0 run. The Sharks answered a couple points later with their own 5-0 run to pull close at 19-14. Venice, however, closed on a 6-1 run.

But Gulf Coast displayed plenty of fight to start the second set as the Sharks scored the first two points and battled all the way to an 11-all tie. Four net serves, however, cost them a chance to pull away, and Venice took control with a 6-0 run.

“’The first game they took it away and we didn’t miss a serve,” Mambuca said. “The second game we started to take it away then started missing serves. … If we don’t miss those serves I think we would’ve won that game and maybe it’s a different match.”

Mambuca, who finished with six blocks, five kills, five digs and one ace, wasn’t alone in her thinking that the Sharks missed any chance at the upset in the second set.

“We had them rattled,” said Reschke, with tears still fresh in her eyes.

The senior outside hitter led the Sharks with 12 kills and six digs.

The two teams again traded points for much of the third set. But just as before, the Indians utilized a 6-0 run midway through to establish a 22-14 advantage.

Venice, which made just 16 total errors in the match, simply didn’t provide the Sharks with many opportunities to answer all night.

“We only lost to three teams this whole season despite losing six games,” Mambuca said. “We lost three to Venice, two to Bishop Verot and one to Fort Myers. … It’s better to go out to a good team instead of playing bad against a team you should’ve beaten."