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Plant volleyball team has playoff mojo back under Sinibaldi

 
Carson Gibbs says coach Margeaux Sinibaldi’s faith in the team means “we walk on the court not feeling a bunch of pressure.”
Carson Gibbs says coach Margeaux Sinibaldi’s faith in the team means “we walk on the court not feeling a bunch of pressure.”
Published Nov. 10, 2015

TAMPA — Two weeks ago, before the state playoffs began, first-year Plant coach Margeaux Sinibaldi asked her volleyball team to write down a date.

"When will we play our last game?" she asked her players.

The Panthers' answers — ranging from the date of the region semifinal to the weekend of the state final four — hit a little too close to home.

Sinibaldi, 29, was a standout volleyball player at Venice High School, but said she always had a hard time believing in her abilities, choosing to continue her career at Division II University of Tampa instead of the University of Florida. While at UT, she became a two-time All-American and the Spartans' career digs leader. Still, her confidence suffered.

For the 16 players who sat before her that day, Sinibaldi wanted something much different.

"I told the girls, 'If I can give you anything, I don't want you to be like I was. I want you to realize now that you're good,' " she said. " 'You have the ability to do something really special, and I need you to know that.' "

Now that they're just one win from the school's 11th state volleyball championship, the Panthers (27-6) already have.

Plant faces St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 7A state championship Saturday, a stage with which the Panthers are quite familiar. From 1998-2013, Plant won 16 straight district titles, and beginning in 2001, the Panthers won eight state championships in 10 seasons.

But on Day 1 with her new team, Sinibaldi made it clear to the Panthers that she didn't really care about their past. For senior outside hitter Ansley Gould, it wasn't disrespect, but a relief.

"When you stay in the shadow of what's been done before you, it's intimidating," said Gould, who leads the team with 273 kills and 45 aces. "(It helped) having her come in and say, 'I don't care what they did in 2002. I wasn't here. You guys weren't here. So what does it matter to you?' "

Instead, Sinibaldi's main goal was to help her team find its own identity. And while the Panthers searched for theirs, Sinibaldi's was validated with each passing day.

Sinibaldi began her coaching career in 2011 when she took over the program at Bloomingdale. After the 2013 season, she left the Bulls to become an assistant coach at UNC Charlotte. Being far from her home state and in a program that Sinibaldi said wasn't a good fit for her, though, took its toll, and she moved back to Venice after just one year.

Sinibaldi admitted she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue coaching, but decided to give it another chance when Plant reached out to her.

And less than a year in, both players and coach agree something clicked.

"I do feel like there's something special here, and there is a reason I'm here," Sinibaldi said. "I'm obviously a good fit for this team. They respond to me really well."

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For so long, Sinibaldi had absolutely nothing to do with the Plant culture. While at Bloomingdale, her Bulls were Plant's district rival. She admits that, before this season, her proudest coaching achievement was when Bloomingdale once beat Plant with a roster full of freshmen.

But it's Sinibaldi's focus on her new players instead of their past, junior setter Carson Gibbs said, that has no doubt helped them get where they are.

"It gives us confidence because she has confidence in us," Carson said. "We walk on the court not feeling a bunch of pressure, feeling like we have to play perfect. Because she believes we can do it."

In the past three weeks, the Panthers have been mere moments from watching their season end several times. Steinbrenner took Plant to five sets in the district semifinal, and the Panthers went on to win three more five-set matches since to take home district and region titles.

The confidence that Sinibaldi has tried so hard to instill in the Panthers, Gould said, is exactly what their new identity is turning out to be.

"Giving to the team in those fourth and fifth sets has made us so much better. We understand the game more and we understand each other," she said. "And it's really helped us say, 'This is our team. This is what we're going to do. We are going to outlast anything that gets thrown at us.' "

And it's that part of their newfound identity, the Panthers hope, that will soon help them add "state champions" to the list.

Contact Kelly Parsons at kaparsons@tampabay.com. Follow @_kellyparsons.