- April 19, 2024
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Deidra Burkley blocks former teammate Jaelyn Lawrence's kill.
Kaylee Mandt celebrates after converting one of her 18 kills on the night. Photos by Jeff Dawsey
Kierra Jones lets off a loud roar after the Bulldogs force a fifth set.
Paige Smith blocks a shot to help the Pirates secure the third set.
The Pirates' student section hold up the customary finger for the match point.
The Matanzas Lady Pirates survived another five-set rival match against crosstown rival FPC to win 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13 on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at Matanzas.
While the match swung back and forth with nearly every point and set, cheers from the FPC and Matanzas supporters did the same. Each section wanted to outdo the other – although Matanzas as the home team held the overwhelming advantage, and both sections made the competition on the court that much better.
“It’s definitely a rivalry,” said Dawn Moses, Lady Pirates’ coach. “These two teams definitely bring their best games on this night. That just makes for an exciting match. It was exciting there (at FPC), and it was exciting here.
For the second time this season, the girls went to five sets. Last time around, it was the Bulldogs who only needed a set to win it, but the Pirates stormed back to win. This time the Bulldogs rallied to force a final set – despite all of the anti-FPC chants – but was unable to finish the comeback.
“You know it’s going to be crazy, going into the fifth set with a rival team,” said Ashley Dietrich, FPC’s head coach. “They ran off at us a little bit 5-1, and that was a big part. We just got outhustled.”
While her team did pull out the thriller, Moses didn’t believe her Pirates played their best game.
“We missed a lot of serves tonight, and that hasn’t been like us for the last couple of games,” she said. “But I told them it takes a good team to be able to not play well and still win the match.”
Game stats
Matanzas: Kaylee Mandt finished led all players with 18 kills and three blocks. Jaelyn Lawrence had eight kills, and Alyssia Piaz had six kills.
FPC: Jael Jara finished with 13 kills and 26 assists. Angelica Collazo also had 13 kills. Kierra Jones had six kills and three ace, and Shelby Beck had 11 digs.
