Advertisement

Volleyball: AHN tops Berkeley Prep in four

 
Published Oct. 1, 2014

TAMPA — The last time Berkeley Prep and Academy of the Holy Names met on that court, the Jaguars defeated the Bucs in three sets to win the Class 4A, District 10 title, ending Berkeley Prep's 11-year championship streak.

So Tuesday, when the district rivals met again, the dramatics were no surprise.

AHN took the first two close sets before the Bucs staged a comeback in the third. The rally was short-lived, however, as the Jaguars beat Berkeley Prep 26-24 in the fourth to win the match 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 13-25, 26-24).

Sophomore outside hitter Camille Opp said the memories of the Jaguars' upset championship win almost a year ago at Straz Fieldhouse were still present when they entered the gym for Tuesday's match.

"That's what we fight for every day, our names on the banner at our school," she said. "That's we strive for, beating all of them."

From the start, it appeared Holy Names would have no trouble doing it again.

The Bucs — who have just two juniors and no seniors — kept the first two sets close, but the Jaguars took advantage of errors down the stretch to come away with wins.

In the third, however, the young Bucs showed they wouldn't go down without a fight.

Berkeley Prep (7-8, 2-1) led 5-0 to start the set and went on a 10-0 run, which included four aces from freshman outside hitter Jenna Hampton, late in the game to eventually win it.

The Jaguars' serve receive broke down, coach Jeff Davis said, and the Bucs seemed to have an answer for every attack.

"I think we came in a little cocky," said Opp, who led Holy Names (9-8, 2-1) with 11 kills. "But then we talked and said, "Fight right now. And if we don't we're going to lose.'"

The Jaguars trailed early in the fourth set, but Berkeley Prep hitting errors soon gave the AHN a lead it never relinquished. Outside hitter Madison Jenkins, who led her team with 14 kills, and the Bucs rallied to tie score at 24.

A Berkeley Prep error followed by an Opp kill, though, ended the comeback attempt.

Holy Names has played tough competition this season, and it'll continue that with a match Thursday against 2012 7A state champion Venice. Matches like that, Davis said, prepare his team for the end of the season — when his Jaguars will likely meet Berkeley Prep once again.

"We don't want any easy matches. We want to play tough competition," he said. "If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best."

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