The Apopka Blue Darters ran into a determined Forest Lake Academy squad Monday night, as the Panthers made the short trip and left with a straight-set sweep, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19. The win lifted Forest Lake to 10-3 while dropping Apopka to 4-10. 

Forest Lake entered the match shorthanded, traveling with just six players, but the group played every point without showing signs of fatigue. They also had a loud traveling student section that made their presence felt from the opening serve, energizing the Panthers throughout the night. 

“We should never lose the energy that we lose at home,” head coach Brian Mater said. “One, their crowd should never be louder than us. When you see that, it takes away the energy from the girls. I feel like they started giving up right away.” 

Apopka jumped in front early in the first set when Madeline Sherrer hammered home a kill to make it 3-1. The teams traded points in the opening stretch, with Blue Darter setter Taylor Cain and Forest Lake’s Ammile Mercado each setting the tone for their offenses. Sherrer and Daylen Hilliman added key kills to keep the set tied at 8.  

The Darters briefly built a 17-14 lead behind strong setting from Olivia Ramos, who connected with Cain for a pinpoint right-side kill. But the Panthers responded behind Mercado’s serving and Irielle White’s dominance at the net.  

White’s fourth block of the set helped spark a nine-point run, and Forest Lake stormed back to take the opener, 25-18. 

The second set mirrored the first, with both sides trading rallies and neither leading by more than a few points. Late in the set, Apopka looked for momentum when Marie Hughes ripped an ace to make it 18-17. But after an error, Mercado answered with an ace of her own for Forest Lake.  

Sherrer and Hughes kept Apopka within striking distance, while Forest Lake leaned on White’s blocking and the finishing ability of Victoria Sorokoumova. The set was tied 21-21 before the Panthers closed on a 4-1 run, capped by Sorokoumova’s kill to seal a 25-22 win and a two-set lead. 

Apopka showed resilience in the third set, even after Forest Lake grabbed early control. The Panthers opened up a 13-7 lead, but the Blue Darters fought back with Cain and Brianna Young sparking a rally that closed the gap to a single point.  

Hilliman added a stellar block to tie it up at 16, but errors slowed the comeback. Out of a late timeout, Forest Lake’s Violeta Sorokoumova delivered back-to-back aces to push the lead out of reach, and the Panthers closed out the sweep 25-19. 

Sherrer led Apopka with seven kills and two blocks, while Hughes added five kills, a block, and an ace. Cain contributed across the board with 14 assists and a kill in every set. Ramos provided 11 assists off the bench, while Napier and Hilliman combined for seven kills. Despite stretches of strong play, Apopka couldn’t finish off a set against the disciplined Panthers. 

Forest Lake’s balanced six-player lineup spread the workload evenly. Victoria Sorokoumova led with eight kills, while her sister Violeta added four kills and four aces.  

White anchored the defense at the net with five blocks and three kills, and Mercado and Kaliya Smith combined for more than 20 assists while digging out spikes all over the floor. Carola Genanian chipped in five kills, making that all six players with hefty contributions. 

After the match, Mater emphasized his team’s need to sustain energy and communication late in sets.  

“They had six players over there, and those girls did not get tired,” he said. “We have 14, rotating in and out, and it just seems like we gave up once we got down a few points… They’re just not communicating on the court, which is huge.” 

Mater also pointed to serving errors and overreliance on tips as areas to improve.  

“We need to stop giving them balls. You can’t just tip everything,” he said. “Key points too where we missed a lot of serve, you can’t do that in a game like this. This is a scrappy team.” 

The Blue Darters won’t have to wait long for another chance at Forest Lake, with a rematch scheduled for next week.  

“Good thing is we get to see them again,” Mater said. “We’ve got to come back and bring that energy into their gym and do the same thing.” 

Apopka stays home for a district matchup against Seminole, at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.