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Hudson Storms Back To Advance

COBRAS 3, EAGLES 1

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST

Hudson outside hitter Haillie Bislick reaches down for one of her 35 digs on the night.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: November 5, 2008

HUDSON - "Dominate!"

That's the rallying cry Hudson volleyball players strive to embody when retaking the court after breaking huddle. While Tuesday night's 3-1 regional quarterfinal victory over South Lake Groveland was not nearly as dominant as previous Cobra matches during their now 10-game winning streak, enough grit and determination was displayed to stay alive and see next week.

Hudson prevailed by running off three straight games after losing the match's first: 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-20.

In all four games, the Cobras jumped out to quick leads only to see a resilient South Lake bunch fight back and make things interesting. Even Game Two's 11-point, 25-14 win didn't seem at hand until the end.

"We have trouble sometimes, but we always manage to pull it together," libero Jessica Christianson said. "We've been preparing for it a lot. The Nature Coast match was a lot of help because we actually had a challenge and we've just been working really hard. We started off slow, but now we're ready to go on."

Christianson led the Cobras (21-7) in digs with 49 Tuesday.

After Hudson squandered leads as big as six points on multiple occasions throughout Game One, South Lake appeared to be getting warmed up while the Cobras reeled. But Hudson rebounded immediately, led by powerful play at the net both on offense and defense.

Cara Carley, Shannon Zasloff and Katy McGee began emphatically putting down kills and combining for momentum-shifting blocks.

Carley (11 kills) and Zasloff (10 kills) led offensively up front. McGee (9 blocks) and Zasloff (4 blocks) took charge on the other end, stuffing a couple of the Eagles' big hitters, such as Aurora Newgard and Erika Gaul.

Freshman Lacey Carley and junior Randi Groff also contributed three service aces a piece.

Hudson finally put the match to rest when Zasloff slammed home the game-winning kill in Game Four. South Lake (16-8) got within three points of Hudson at 23-20, but McGee's strong stuff at the net set up Zasloff's eventual kill on the next point.

The victory also stands as a form of redemption. Hudson was beaten in the same round two seasons ago by South Lake in five games.

"It means a lot," Christianson said of the advancement to the regional semifinals. "It's a big victory and it's just crazy to think we could go through this far because we started so slow in the beginning."

Hudson will now play Class 4A-District 7 champion Bishop Moore Orlando. The Hornets defeated District 4A-8 runner-up Nature Coast Tech Tuesday night in straight games, 3-0.

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com

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