Mariner overpowers ELC
Mariner High volleyball coach Tom Faasse decided to shake up the lineup Tuesday night after a rough stretch that saw the Tritons lose three straight matches to Fort Myers, Barron Collier and Ida Baker.
One significant change was moving sophomore Samantha Greenwell up from the junior varsity.
Greenwell responded Tuesday night, as she served the first 17 points of the Tritons’ 25-9, 25-16, 25-12 victory over visiting East Lee County.
“She can serve the ball and that’s one of the reasons she came up,” Faasse said. “I can call an area on the floor and she’ll hit it.”
Greenwell mixed it up and consistently exploited holes in the Jaguars’ defense. She served five aces in the 17-0 opening run.
“I was nervous,” Greenwell said. “I had never served first for varsity. (Coach) Faasse told me some spots and then I just started picking them out. I figured not to hit it to the libero.”
Along with the strong serving, the Tritons were led in game one by senior Courtney Pruden. Twice the Jaguars were able to send shots at the Tritons, but Pruden, a 5-foot-9 middle hitter, was ready at the net.
The Jaguars cut into the lead slightly. Katherine Pavliscak and Melika Felix combined on a block, making it 19-5. The Tritons, though, remained in control.
Senior Bailey Keller served four points to make it 24-9 and the Jaguars hit a serve into the net on the final point.
Even against inexperienced East Lee, Faasse said the Tritons came out focused.
“We’ve been playing hard and playing well, just haven’t gotten the breaks,” he said. “We changed the lineups and some of our rotations and it took a couple practices to get used to it. Now they’re starting to get the flow.”
In game two, the Jaguars came out fast, scoring two of the first three points.
Keller and senior Rachel Ward then led the Tritons on a run, which gave them a comfortable 10-4 lead.
Both were efficient serving, and on one point, Ward scrambled to save the ball and it led to a shot by Keller.
After the Tritons stretched the lead to 19-12, senior Emily Wincel took over. She recorded four of her five kills late in game two to help clinch it.
The start of the third game closely resembled the opening game. This time, instead of Greenwell, Keller found the groove, serving nine straight points to put the Tritons in command again.
The Tritons (3-5, 3-3 in District 5A-15) visit North Fort Myers Thursday night.