For the first time since last year’s regional semifinal, Satellite and Merritt Island volleyball squared off with the two teams now in different classes.
The Mustangs, coming off two defeats in Clearwater, bounced back against red-hot Satellite with a four-set win on Sept. 1 winning 25-19, 9-25, 25-17, 25-19.
“Definitely happy with the way we came out, especially not having one of our outsides. That was difficult, but I knew the team would step up and not be rattled by it,” Merritt Island head coach Angie Patrick said. “The second set, I just don’t know. I knew we just needed to get out of the set and we would recover and be OK. I’m proud of the way we finished. Satellite played amazing so it was a really good match.”
After controlling the first set, the second set completely fell apart for Merritt Island scoring a season-low 9 points. The Mustangs were able to regroup and find another gear to bring home the victory.
“Reece (Loggins) is so consistent. She’s like our safety blanket. Amazing passer and just had a couple bad passes and the rest of the team just really didn’t respond to help her out,” Patrick said. “It was one error after the next. We were like that’s totally not us. We’re going to press the reset button and we’re going to turn the switch on. That’s what we did.”
Merritt Island was led by junior Ema Michell as she finished with 17 kills, 13 digs and 4 aces. Right behind her was senior Lydia Scott who finished with 16 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks and 1 ace. It was her third straight double-double.
“I think we played really hard,” Scott said. “I think in the beginning we came out really strong, but I think we went down a little bit, took our foot off the gas but then we came back really good. I think we just all played really strong together as a team at the end.”
Scott said she was proud with the way team responded after the second set. The Mustangs never trailed in the third set and only trailed by 2 points early in the fourth set.
“I think we just came out with a fire. We have a purpose to play for. We were playing as a team. It’s not about yourself, it’s not about your mistakes,” Scott said. “It’s about how you come out in these next sets and I think we did a really good job of moving on from the mistakes and doing better than what we just did.”
Scott ranks second on the team with 94 kills. The junior is on pace to surpass last year’s kills total of 211 after making the move to play on both pins.
“They’re two totally different positions. The swing, the footwork, everything is so different but it really develops being able to play any spot in the front row,” Scott said. “It takes a lot of repetition, a lot of discipline but it’s fun. It’s really fun to be able to play anywhere on the net. I have a step up over a lot of other people.”
Mustangs senior Reece Loggins dug a team-high 18 balls. Seniors Amber Ives and Alyssa Passmore split the distribution with 25 and 22 assists, respectively.
The victory ended a brief two-match losing streak after Merritt Island lost to two of the best teams in the state on Aug. 28-29. The Mustangs lost to Calvary Christian Clearwater and First Baptist Academy in four sets.
Merritt Island won the first set at Calvary Christian 25-22 but lost the next three including dropping the third set 27-25. After losing the first two sets to First Baptist, including set two 29-27, Merritt Island won the third set before dropping the fourth set 25-22.
“When we went there, it was like we’re going to learn, we’re going to grow, we’re going to have fun. We were hungry for the competition because we wanted to see where we fell in the state. We were there,” Patrick said. “Our system was thrown off a little bit and we weren’t clicking on all gears and the other teams were. I feel like when we play next time and we’re clicking on all cylinders and we know what we’re going to see across the net, we might have a different result.”
The Mustangs improved to 5-2 and they’ll host Osceola on Sept. 3.
“I think we’re playing very well. I think we’re getting to know each other. Obviously, it’s still the preseason. I think our connections are getting there,” Scott said. “I think everything’s just kind of clicking a little bit more. I think we’re going to have a really good season and we’re playing some really good teams. I think it’s going to really develop for us.”
Satellite was swept four times by Merritt Island in five meetings last season. The Scorpions took a set this year in dominant fashion and trailed the fourth set 21-19 before Merritt Island scored the final four points of the match.
“We played very well. We made gains (tonight). We’ve been working really hard and it’s starting to show,” Satellite head coach Daren Bolton said. “Still got a ways to go, but we’re a lot closer than we were a week ago, two weeks ago so I’m happy with our progression.”
After dropping the opening set, Satellite used an 18-3 run in the second half to dominate the second set. Sophomore Harper Lanza spiked 4 kills and sophomore Kenzie Little recorded 2 kills and 2 aces in the set.
“That set went the way it did because of our confidence,” Bolton said. “We’re still a relatively younger team that we need to gain those confidence games. I thought we got a little conservative again, but we’re good.”
Lanza led the Scorpions with 11 kills and 3 aces. Senior Lily Ruda finished with 9 kills and Little recorded 8 kills and 2 aces.
A new addition that’s made an instant impact for Satellite is junior Lily Sigety. The Melbourne transfer recorded 4 kills and 3 blocks for points against Merritt Island. Sigety entered Sept. 1 with a team-high 56 assists to go with 35 digs, 15 kills and 10 aces.
“It’s been awesome,” Bolton said. “Being able to run a really effective 6-2 (formation) and have (Sigety’s) offense, so we’re excited. She’s definitely improved the team.”
Satellite dropped to 3-2 after seeing its three-match winning streak snapped. It’ll compete in the three-day KSA Events Fall Classic tournament in Orlando starting Sept. 3.
“Each week we’re getting better. At the end of the day, it matters most to how we’re playing at the end of the season,” Bolton said. “As long as I’m seeing progressions and us getting better, then I feel pretty good about it.”
Tuesday’s scores
Viera def. Spruce Creek 3-0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-17)
Viera remains undefeated after a sweep of Spruce Creek to move to 5-0 on the season. The Hawks will compete in the three-day KSA Events Fall Classic in Orlando beginning on Sept. 3.
Space Coast def. Holy Trinity 3-2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12, 15-8)
The Vipers earned their biggest win of the season, securing a road reverse sweep at Holy Trinity to win their sixth consecutive match.
Holy Trinity was led by senior Taylor Yochim’s 19 kills and 4 blocks. Senior Brooke Ellingson spiked a dozen kills to go with 18 digs. Senior Gracin Borboroglu posted 21 digs.
Space Coast improved to 6-1 and it’ll host Eau Gallie on Sept. 3. The Tigers dropped their fifth-straight match to fall to 1-5 entering their Sept. 2 match at Melbourne Central Catholic.
Titusville def. Astronaut 3-2 (25-23, 25-11, 16-25, 21-25, 16-14)
Titusville avoided a reverse sweep to claim the rivalry victory. The Terriers improved to 2-4 and they’ll host Edgewood on Sept. 9. Astronaut fell to 1-3 and it’ll head to Miami for the Tri County High School Championships beginning on Sept. 4.
Merritt Island Christian def. Calvary Chapel 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18)
The Cougars won their fourth match in the last five with a road sweep of the Eagles. Merritt Island Christian moves to 6-4 and it’ll host Master’s Academy (Vero Beach) on Sept. 3. Calvary Chapel fell to 3-2 and it’ll head to Pineapple Cove Palm Bay on Sept. 3.
Sebastian River def. Bayside 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-11)
The Bears couldn’t string back-to-back wins as they suffered a road defeat at Sebastian River. They fell to 2-4 and will play at Melbourne Central Catholic on Sept. 3.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Merritt Island beats Satellite, Viera volleyball stays undefeated
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