Apopka dominates Jones but falls in 5-set thriller

Apopka volleyball experienced both sides of a competitive week, dominating Jones on the road before returning home and taking a talented Windermere team to the brink in a five-set thriller. 

The Blue Darters opened the stretch with a commanding 25-10, 25-13, 25-15 sweep of Jones before falling to Windermere 25-16, 22-25, 25-13, 25-27, 15-13 the following night. 

Despite the loss, Apopka showed encouraging signs against Windermere after battling back twice and pushing the match to the final points of the fifth set. 

Against Jones, Apopka quickly took control after an early deficit. 

The Fightin’ Tigers scored the first three points, but Marie Hughes helped the Blue Darters answer immediately. After Apopka got on the board, Hughes delivered three consecutive aces as part of a run that gave the Blue Darters control. 

Taylor Cain then found Kierra Taylor in the middle for a spike before Hughes added another ace. 

Apopka continued building its lead behind strong serving. Emily Durham stepped to the line and delivered an ace before setting Laila White for a kill in the middle, forcing a Jones timeout with the Blue Darters ahead 16-5. 

Victoria Polusmak added an ace as Apopka continued its dominant first set. Kiana Napier followed with two consecutive kills from the right side before Hughes closed the set with two more aces for a 25-10 victory. 

Jones again opened the second set with an early advantage, leading 5-4 before Apopka found its second gear. 

Freshman Kalissa Burske entered the match and immediately contributed, setting Napier for a kill. White later tied the score at 7 with a tip kill. 

Polusmak then gave Apopka its first lead of the set with a kill off a set from Isabel Romero. After Taylor added another kill, Polusmak took over from the service line. 

She delivered three consecutive aces as Apopka turned an early deficit into a 15-9 advantage. Burske added a kill before Polusmak delivered another ace. 

The Blue Darters continued pulling away, with White recording another well-placed tip kill and Romero adding a big kill from the left side as Apopka claimed the second set 25-13. 

The third set followed a similar pattern, with Jones jumping ahead early before Apopka responded. 

Cain used her signature dump shot to help the Blue Darters take their first lead, and Polusmak continued her strong night with a pair of kills from the left side. 

Cain later set White for a booming kill, while Anais Ruiz delivered an impressive diving dig that kept a rally alive and resulted in another Apopka point. 

The Blue Darters continued to pull away as Cain added another dump kill and set Hughes for a powerful finish from the left side. 

Romero contributed another kill from the right before Apopka closed out the sweep with a 25-15 victory. 

Polusmak led the Blue Darters with eight kills and five aces. Hughes finished with seven aces and five kills, while Cain filled the stat sheet with four dump kills, one ace and 14 assists. 

Coach Brian Mater said he likes the energy his team plays with but that it still has areas to clean up. 

“We’re getting a lot of good energy right now,” Mater said. “We’re getting a little comfortable with some of the games that we should just go in there and kill it. So we got to kind of work on that.” 

Mater said his team’s upcoming schedule will require improvement, particularly defensively. 

“I think we’re really struggling in the back row a lot on defense,” Mater said. “We’re playing flat-footed. A lot of our players are standing straight up instead of being down, ready to play and falling forward and crashing forward.Boone killed us on tips, so we really gotta start playing harder defense a lot more,” he said. 

The next night, Apopka faced a much different challenge. 

The Windermere Wolverines took the opening set 25-16, but Apopka responded with a 25-22 victory in the second. 

Windermere regained control in the third set, winning 25-13, before the Blue Darters again refused to go away. 

Apopka battled through a neck-and-neck fourth set that eventually went to extra points. The Blue Darters prevailed 27-25, sending the match to a decisive fifth set. 

The final set was a nail-biter. Apopka stayed within striking distance throughout, but Windermere ultimately escaped with a 15-13 victory to win the match. 

The Blue Darters will have little time to regroup. 

After two consecutive matches against Jones and Windermere, Apopka hits the road at 7 p.m. Thursday for another difficult matchup against West Orange.