WHO'S #2????????

Ok it's obvious Clearwater (15-0) is the the top dog in Pinellas County volleyball, but would the real No. 2 team please stand up! Is it East Lake? Is it Palm Harbor? Is it Indian Rocks Christian? Is it Countryside? A case could be made for all four, but what do you think? I got an email the other day about the lack of shine for South County teams, but are any of those squads good enough to lay claim to the No. 2 spot? Let us know.

BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[Janet White]

Quite frankly Palm Harbor and East Lake lost to Clearwater in three games this week, yet the underdogs (Tarpon Springs) pulled through taking Clearwater to game 4 last night. Now what does this say about them being the #2 team in the county? We all may have to reevaluate. Tarpon may go somewhere in Districts this season. Dont cross them off the list to early.

Clearwaters bus didn't show up, the parents had to last minute take all the kids they had about 60 seconds to warm up. Don't take any credit for taking ONE game. Please! Tarpon MOM are you kidding me?

[Rob]

Hmmm... Let's see. East Lake has beaten Tarpon twice, Palm Harbor twice, Indian Rocks, and Countryside. In other words, East Lake hasn’t lost to anybody in their district or conference besides Clearwater. All the teams are good teams, but my vote for the next team in line is East Lake.

Tarpon taking Clearwater to four games does not mean that they're #2 in the county. Other teams have taken Clearwater to four games this season as well, including East Lake. Palm Harbor took them to five the first time around. Let's look at the whole season and not just this past week. Four games means NOTHING. Let's not get YOUR hopes up to early.

I see East Lake vs. PHU and Clearwater vs. Largo in district semi's. And for the finals East Lake vs. Clearwater.

[ps]

We know that Tarpon is not the 2nd best in the county but it would nice to read in the paper about other teams than the "big 3" in the district. They are the best and have some of the better player. But to always write about the same players that have ok game against sub par teams is not fair to player like Ashely Knight of Tarpon, (and no this is not her mother). She has had a great season for Tarpon but you never see her name in the paper when she has 20 kills against Pinellas Park, but some girls on the "big 3" team has 9 kills and she is all over the newspaper. It would be nice for ALL the good players across the county to get the same recognition as the girls on the "big 3" If you put an Ashely Knight on any of those teams she would easily be a starter.

Ok so Tarpon took Clearwater to 4 games, not a big deal to most people but in Tarpons book that was a big step in the right direction for the program.

By the way Tarpon will make it to the district Semi's.

It's hard for girls in those "big 3" to get 20 kills against teams like Pinellas Park when their coaches put their second string in. Sure if their coaches let them stay in all three games and let them swing away while PP plays dodgeball, they would have 20 kills against them too.

In the perfect world (TEAM), Sarah Rex,Malory Kiley,Kristin Fisher,Ashley Knight,Brianna Yeates and Slater at defense would be on a team with Channing Salava and Sydney Miller setting! Now there is a fine team.

I can't believe that the only Pinellas county school in the state rankings is Countryside. And how do they stay in the rankings with so many losses. I thought I heard East Lake did really well in a big tournament. Then shouldn't at least unbeaten Clearwater get some votes if they beat East Lake easily.

[BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Staff Writer]

Fear not Tarpon faithful, I have something in the works for Ashley Knight. She is an excellent player with considerable skill. Rob posted a strong case for East Lake (although their win against IRC was in the preseason). But is it the East Lake that manhandled Countryside Thursday or the team that let Clearwater walk all over its court Wednesday?

I feel there has been more variety of teams mentioned this year in the paper than in the past. Indian Rocks got more press than anyone at the beginning of the season until PHU killed them. CCC has had big articles a couple times as well. PHU got a write up about Sidney Miller which she deserved after winning Keswick. East Lake got some press for Terry's 200th win. For Clearwater to be considered the top team, they have not had as much press as all these other teams. Clearwater's Kristin Fisher has been "unstopable", but has not gotten her own article yet. Also I believe the paper includes blurbs about many of the games IF the home team coach calls in the stats. But with how many teams there are in the county you have to do something to stand out (like WIN *TOUGH* matches) if you want to get the attention. Ashley Wright is good, but no (UCF bound) Kristin Fisher. I do think Ashley should get noticed in the paper though.

Yes, Kristin is good, but is walking on to UCF. Ashley will probably get to play in college as well especially if she has a good club season. The press can't be everywhere and as far as CHS articles, the coach is pushing Kristin in the paper now so I am sure there will be an article soon. There are a lot of talented girls all deserving. The end result is really what matters.

Whats all this talk about Ashley Knight on Tarpon? Who gives a crap if Clearwater (15-0) went to 4 games with them.Big woop.Its not like they havent gone to 4 or 5 games with anyone else.Tarpon is a scrappy team;Yes they may have good defense...but Clearwater had two other BIG IMPORTANT games in a row- PHU & Eastlake.Give them a break.Clearwater is the only team that is undeafted....Dosent that say something?AND THEIR NOT EVEN RANKED. But countryside and everyone else is? All i got to say is give Clearwater credit;for what its worth they do have some of the best players in pinellas;Kristen Fisher,Lauren Rilling,Channing Saliva,Shannon Romine,Katie Betourne...i mean the list can go on.

Yes I agree Clearwater is the best team in the county. All I have to say is Clearwaters just fortunate to have to best player in the county, Fisher. She's the only one who can hit those inconsistent sets from Channing. One of these days the outside hitters are gonna die from trying to get that ball over the net.
Their so lucky that Fisher can hit anything but that's not the only reason. They have a core of club players that are consistent but never get any glory. So they are also lucky they have some unselfish players while the others steal the show.
They have new players who are not used to playing together which can be seen through communication errors but, I'm pretty positive that in the end it won't just be 2 players that get them to the top.

Does everyone agree with me when I say that ALL the teams in Pinellas want to try to beat Clearwater?..okay thought so.I mean I give props to any team that goes to 4/5 games with them.Their a very impressive team that works well together and is unstoppable.But like all teams they have offnights,errors,blah blah.This is a new year with new girls that havent even played together yet. Getting used to playing with different people on the court is a long process. But I do believe Clearwater has the best potential players ive seen. But the same players over and over again get the recognition.And im saying this for all the teams with juniors,sophmores who are just or better than the other girls who do get recgonized. All im saying is give the other girls a shot to be at the top.

ps.I believe Clearwater is undefeated for a reason.Their energy on the court shows;and I think they will make it very difficult for the rest of the teams in districts to win.Countryside better start warming up now! (Considering this tuesdays game)

The only reason Clearwater went 4 games with Tarpon is because they played 2 road games the night before, which are the fighting teams for #1 and #2 in the county, and played Tarpon after waiting for a bus for an hour and a half. Maybe it was... deliberate?? So what? But I think east lake will be second in the end, if they can hold up to their press.

Woooo I have to stop laughing at the 9/29 @ 8:28 post. Before you go and make statements on who's ranked in the state, why don't you do a little research and get some facts to back up your statements. NO TEAM IN PINELLAS COUNTY IS RANKED. Not Countryside, not East Lake, not Palm Harbor, etc... Go to the Florida Sports Writers Assoc.'s website and check out the state rankings in ALL the classes. No one's ranked.

What's with all this boo hoo hooing about Clearwater not being ranked? We should all know by now that volleyball in Pinellas County is over looked year after year by people in the state and even people in our own county. Example: Countryside's '00-'01 team witch made it to state semi-finals, East Lake's team in '01-'02 also made it to the state semi-finals & their '02-'03 team which finished 2nd in the state, all these teams were NOT given state rankings until there were less than 10 teams left!! I mean come on! Football gets an entire page with articles on a daily basis hyping up games and featuring players. Any body else realize there's only 4 volleyball blogs and the other 95% are football? How about doing an article that features all of Pinellas County's top players: Fisher, Rex, Yeates, Opperman, Miller, Salava, Knight, and Slater. Or how about leaving a little more space so Brandon can write more than 10 sentences on two different matches.

Keep on writing Brandon!! I like that you've made an effort to go to so many of the games this season. Thanks for the ink.

[spectator]

all i have to say is the only team in the county gettin press is east lake. give me a break every time they have a game they are in the news paper...they have sara rex and thats all. is the press graduates of eatlake or something. clearwater is definetly going to be the team to look out for their setter is amazing and so is kristen. oh and good job tarpon so what theyre not an awesome team...ashley can put the ball away and has amazing defense id take her over almost anyone her numbers are very impressive this year but hasnt gotten in the newspaper once
largo also has a pretty good setter but hasnt been mentioned yet good luck to all the teams

Don't know who wrote Channing Saliva is an inconsistant setter, but you don't play on a NATIONAL level team ( as a setter) with inconsistant sets! And no, this isn't a Clearwater parent.

yep. i agree with 9/30 @ 12:09. Does Eastlake pay the paper to get in everytime?(And Phu.) C`mon now. Lets count how many times Clearwater or Tarpon,..Largo etc. has gotten a big article in the paper with their best player? NEVER. The people who "watch the games" would know who should be talked about.Clearwater has beaten Eastlake and Phu in the past few days in 3 games.Those are the top 3 teams right there.Goodluck to all the teams @ districts.We'll see what happens.

[BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Staff Writer]

It's great to see so many people posting intelligent comments on the blog. All of the posts make good points and, unlike the football blog that dominates this site, the comments are well thought-out and not childish name calling. Thank you 9/29 @ 11:42. And yes I would LOVE a little extra space to do more stories on volleyball. If we could devote the entire sports section to it, I would be even happier. But we all know that's a pipe dream. To me, local sports are one of the few true "News" items left for papers. Everyone knows by Sunday night how the Bucs game went, but if you want to know who won the East Lake/Clearwater match, you have to get it from the paper if you're not in the stands that night. So if I was the editor, coverage would lean toward things not covered by TV, websites, high light shows, etc. Oh yeah, and I'd be WAY richer.
Spectator: The reason it seems like every East Lake match makes the paper is because of this week. East Lake played back-to-back matches against Clearwater and Countryside, so both got play. However, i believe that was just the second and third times their matches have been covered live. It's all smoke and mirrors. And no, I didn't graduate from East Lake. I come from the hallowed halls of Riverview (Sarasota).
As far as the state rankings go, don't put too much stock in them. I've been putting my two cents in regarding local teams, but for the most part they are regionalized guesses from the editors of the site.

[BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Staff Writer]

And to set the record straight, I wrote a feature on Kristin Fisher last season before everyone was calling her the "Best Player in the County" (which she is).

Spectator: The reason it seems like every East Lake match makes the paper is because of this week. East Lake played back-to-back matches against Clearwater and Countryside, so both got play.....

Alright just one little minor detail about that Brandon.Clearwater had three games in a row. PHU,Eastlake and then Tarpon all away at their gyms.And won them all convincingly.So what does that say? When Clearwater wins, Eastlake gets in the paper..dosent matter if they lose or not i guess.Maybe Clearwater should try to lose to one of the big teams and maybe thats how they will get a big article.
Hm..Work on your research.

I don't think it matters who Clearwater plays. I don't think they'll lose until they play out of this county. So who cares whose #2 in the district big whoop.

Yeah last year you said that in a big article...... what about THIS YEAR?

9/30 @ 12:40. Oh how kind of you to make a article about her(or anyone from clearwater for that matter)before she was known as the "Best player in the county". (Which happened to be LAST SEASON, like you said)
Hm so what about this season?

Who cares who #2 is. Why dont we focus on seeing who # 1 is going to be. Thats what really matters.

good grief people.
CHILLLLLL.

I agree the clearwater team doesn't get any press even though they are completely undefeated and have outstanding players from all aspects. It was stunning how they trampled all over east lake and palm harbor's floor, I was expecting a much tighter match. I think it sends a clear message to the other teams. The coach should be pleased with this group of girls after losing so many outstanding seniors. It shows they have a strong and dedicated team.

[BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Staff Writer]

I love it... I can't win. If I were giving shine to Clearwater, I would be getting trampled for just covering the front runners. I don't do a ton of stuff on Clearwater, and I'm ignoring the best team in the county. Unbelievable. The way I figure, Clearwater will have PLENTY of time for articles because they will likely go the farthest through the playoffs. I've also covered three of their matches live, the same number as East Lake. And Palm Harbor for that matter. Oh yeah, and IRC. But I'll go do some more research.

Brandon, for what its worth, I think you're doing a fine job. Its interesting that you initiated a blog looking for feedback on who the second cede will likely be, at the same time offering, in your opinion (or at least record based), that at this juncture Clearwater is the best team in the county and the blog trails off to a witch hunt about Clearwater print or lack thereof.

Getting back to the original blog, East Lake is as obvious a choice for second as Clearwater is for first, based on who's done what to whom. I'm surprised the courtesy wasn't likewise extended to East Lake. Then we could have moved on to who's #3. All this will really become moot, won't it? Records can be misleading and on a given night anything can happen.

I think East Lake can (Lindsey Opperman & Casey Slater) and will (Sara Rex) upset Clearwater in the district finals. Eastlake will have to acquiesce with your generous offer that Clearwater is the best for now, but that said, they will be looking to claim their proper place post tournament. Go East Lake!

While not germane to this blog itself, I'm compelled to say that as far as individual players are concerned, Kristin Fisher is very strong but don't discount the fact that her play is complemented by a considerable talent in Salava. Good setters not only allow hitters to play up to their potential, but can make them shine. Best of luck to Kristin at UCF. We are lucky to have so many talented girls in our district this year. Lets cheer them all on and hopefully find many of them on the All State teams.

I'm a fan of Clearwater's team and I think Brandon has done a good job. He's right that he'll have plenty of time to write up about Clearwater in post season, so give a little time elsewhere for now. And to the comment about rankings please see http://www.fswaonline.org/prepvolleyballpoll.htm where Countryside is still getting votes in the rankings. I think they were ranked in the top 10 on the previous poll. Might want to do your own research before you laugh too hard. They are 6A so it doesn't really mean too much in comparison to Cleawater (5A), but they are ranked.

10/1 you might want to do some research yourself. They were not ranked before, like you thought, and just because they're receiving votes doesn't not mean they're ranked. There are only 10 teams that are ranked in 6A. And at the bottom it says all other teams receiving votes: blah blah blah. That's like saying Pee Wee Herman received 500 votes towards the presidency. Therefore he received 3rd place in the election!!! I do my research before I post a blog. Why don't YOU DO SOME research before you post your blog saying that YOU THINK, because obviously you didn't think to do some research.

To the posting from September 29th:

I didn't know that IRCS (2A) losing to a Palm Harbor (5A) 25-18, 25-21 was a slaughter. You might want to check the scores of a game before you post a "STUPID" comment that like again.

By the way IRCS is 17-1 and undefeated in a tough district.

Brandon, you're doing a great job. Volleyball is getting more press than the previous years. Remember, you'll never be able to please everyone.

As for rankings, it does stink that the teams in the county who have great records are not even considered. Rankings aren't everything but they are a sense of accomplishment for the girls. They work hard and they need to be recognized.

As far as research goes, the correct information is that a team from Pinellas county was ranked in the state poll. Countryside was ranked #8 in 6A a couple of weeks ago. Clearwater is the best team in the county with the best player in the county Kristin Fisher.

KRISTIN FISHER IS THE BEST PLAYER THAT CLEARWATER HAS EVER PRODUCED, PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's funny how so many people have used this site to complain. First off, Brandon has given our county more coverage than it has seen in forever. He truly enjoys the game and being a part of Pinellas County's programs. Rather than complain about what you're not getting, why don't you thank him for what you are. Realize that he is already doing and has done more than we are used to. With all these complaints I wouldn't blame him if he let it go back to how it was before. If there is no coverage period, then at least there is just one complaint rather than continual random complaints. Pinellas has a fantastic volleyball program overall that could compete with any other county in the state. Let the girls continue to play their best and let that be enough. Regardless of #1,#2, or #3 spot they need to show good sportsmanship, good work ethic, and coachability. That is worth more in the long run than an undefeated season.

Nikki Morzenti was THE best player that came out of CHS. She was a product of EastLake Terry Small and Pinellas Heat Elite. Nikki played 4 years at Buffalo and was a spectacular player for them. She was THE hardest working player you could ever has witnessed playing. Kudos to Fisher for walking on to UCF - it is an unbelievable commitment to play and put in the time for no money. CHS won't win out of county. They simply don't have the training from the core group of girls that play for GulfCoast. I wish them all the luck in the world, but if they face Venice again the coach is a GOD at what he does. He inspires his players and has NO - I said - NO favorites. They are all treated equally and as a UNIT. He makes all of his players feel special not just ONE and when you get that CHS and play some hard teams out of county then you might get passed THE MAN! Look what Plant and Venice did last weekend. They are the force in their districts but put themselves out there to see what they are up against. Good luck to everyone this week for districts. Since POY is already decided we can get down to buisness and play some ball!

Nikki is a Senior now at Buffalo and is off to a grea start to her final season. There will be ups and down in any given year with this game but CHS has got a lot of club players regardless of the club they play for. Getting training all year then non keeps that team going. Tan held PHU together for her 4 which is obvious one year later. By the way - she too is a walk on and playing full time. She played for Tampa Bay Juniors.

As much as I love Nikki Morzenti, and agree she is the hardest working player I have ever seen, we cannot forget Alex Sevillano, who played all 4 years at CHS, was a 2 time Pinellas County Player of the Year, led Clearwater to 4 PCAC titles, 3 District titles, a state runner-up and 1 state title. And no, I am not a Clearwater parent, just another coach in the county.

Looks like some club politics have gotten involved here. But I do not think many will argue Fisher is great and will always be remembered at CHS, and is probably the best player in the county this year. And a very sweet girl to top it all off. Considering her relatively small size it is a feat to be recruited even without money to the strong UCF program. Fisher is a smart girl, probably getting the money from the in-state and academic programs, so it is nice to see her go to a school that is good for her, not just her volleyball career. Previous posts trash Gulfcoast, but they have been what has kept Clearwater the strongest team in Pinellas county year after year for many years now. And Fisher has been a product of that club, as well as the entire Clearwater team that has MANY strong players that would start on every team in the county. Not to mention the older Salava who went to Furman WITH MONEY this past year. I agree it will be nice to see how CHS competes with teams out of the county. No doubt Venice and Plant will be some great competition. I heard CHS had Venice schduled regular season until the county said no out of county matches allowed this year. So instead of trashing our own Pinellas county teams, lets promote them and hope they go far out of county so we can get recognition in the state.

Clearwater will not be #1 after tonight when they have to play Countryside at countryside. It will be just like the football game a blowout. Countryside will manhandle clearwater. Countryside is #1 had a bad game against eastlake but that doesnt matter now that clearwater will lose.

Even if Clearwater was to lose to Countryside, Countryside would still not be considered #1 since they lost to both East Lake and Palm Harbor. Does that mean a tie for East Lake and Clearwater for conference winner? Do not think we will even have to worry about it.

Countryside and Clearwater are not even in the same conference. Heck, Countryside and Eastlake are not even in the same district. Clearwater has beaten Eastlake 2 times one at home one at EL. Tied how? Please tell us how your logic works.

Originally Christine Tan was attending Minnesota as a walk on. Late in the year they found money for her and she was given a full scholarship to Minnesota. Scholarship aside, she has played in every game in every match so far as a freshman. Minnesota is a Top 20 team in the NCAA. She would get my vote for best player to come out of Pinellas, even though it doesn't answer the original "Who's #2" question.

Countryside, Clearwater, East Lake, and Palm Harbor ARE in the same conference (along with Largo, Tarpon, Pinellas Park and Dunedin); they represent the North in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference! That's why they all have to play each other, but since Countryside has already lost in their conference matches against East Lake and Palm Harbor, Clearwater is still #1 in the north division of the PCAC! Even though Clearwater has beaten East Lake twice, it was only the 1st match, which was designated as both Conference AND District, that mattered.
I think Brandon's original question of "Who's #2?" included ALL teams in the county, both public and private, and not just District or Conference.

To the poster yesterday expecting a blowout, please notice Clearwater was able to have a bad night and still squeak out a win. Countryside did give them a good battle. #2 in the county will probably not ever be clear now that none of the top candidates other than PHU and EL will play each other again this year. Wins alone would have to give EL the #2 spot. Unfortunate to see IRC lose to Tampa Prep.

[Lance]

It's really not that hard to tell who is better at volleyball... all you need to do is check the rankings. Clearwater might be undefeated and whatnot but they arent even receiving votes! Either is East Lake , Palm Harbor or any other team in Pinellas county. Countryside is receiving votes and besides that we are in 6A. 5A has no competition. Bayly plays our JV against our conference and we bring out the big guns when we have a district match. Just watch us thursday the 6th at home against Mitchell another no contest.

Wow "Brandon". You are WAY off. If your team can not beat teams that supposedly only have one player on them, then you will have a lot of trouble when you play teams with more than one player! You are correct in saying you are lucky you will not see EL, PHU or the Real CHS at state because they have already proven they can beat you. Meanwhile, Clearwater also beat you with some incredible uncontested kills from setter Salava, smart shots from their left sides, and some untouched tips in game five from Betourne. Fisher did not even have her best match. There was a stronger team out there last night and even on an off night they won.

I say lets put Fisher out there all by her self since everyone thinks she does it by herself. Yup, Clearwater, just put her out there against Lakewood all by her self and see how she does. Who will she pass it to too when she doesn't pass it over the net? Oh her great hitting, who will set it? And when she misses another pass in the back row who is she going to blame it on then. That was comical last night, she missed many passes and you could see her coaches saying 'it's okay' Whoever wrote that about Countryside being a team was right. Whoever wrote that about Venice coach and his Unit or team was correct. The coaches at Clearwater have made a monumental mistake in given Fisher all the credit. I bet the rest of Clearwaters team feels really great about it! It is sad, but I am glad Countryside put up a good fight. Our girls were digging like crazy and were putting up a good fight. Madison was one great hitter and there wasn't a ball that Taylor didn't pass right to our setter. Great group effort Countryside.

The paper writing about Fisher does not mean the rest of the team does not exist or is overlooked by the coaches. In fact the paper mentioned the two top hitters from Clearwater's team which was NOT Fisher last night. The person who wrote the article was at the game and wrote about who he wanted to. Clearwater's TEAM beat Countryside.

[EL fan]

Brandon- you mean no contest when East Lake played Coutryside right? Ouch...

Kristin is an outstanding player. So what, she had an off night and Clearwater still won. That shows you that they're not a one player team. Leave Kristin alone. She's a great player.

Sara Rex is also a great player, and a junior I might add (can't wait to see her play next year), but she is not the ONLY player on EL. You have Lindsey, who led the team in kills against C-side, and Casey Slater their libero who had 38 digs against C-side. Wow sure does sound like Sara did everything herself you moron.

I'd also like to add that Clearwater, East Lake, and Palm Harbor have all beaten Countryside. We have one of the toughest (north) confrences.

Having said that, Countryside should beat Mitchell because Mitchell does not compare to any of these teams.

[Anonymous]

Well, that was a real thriller last night between Clearwater and Countryside! Good job to ALL of the players.

Kristin Fisher, I'm sure, would not be happy in hearing that many of you bloggers feel she is the only REAL player on CHS's team. And, that CHS doesn't play as a TEAM. For the record, they DO and Kristin is very much a TEAM PLAYER. On top of that, she is a very nice young lady. No, I'm not her mother, or even a relative. Just suffice it to say that I know many players from many Pinellas & Hillsborough County teams.

One player cannot do it all. What all of this is about is sour grapes from fans of the teams who can't figure out how to beat THE WHOLE CHS TEAM.

And even though the match went to five games last night....REMEMBER....CLOSE ONLY COUNTS IN HORSESHOES.

How about Kristin Fisher is amazing and shows that even is she is off a little Clearwater's TEAM can still win.

[VBall Sage]

Clearwater clearly ended the season as the best public school in the county. My vote for number two goes to Countryside who played Clearwater very tough, won against an excellent Palm Harbor team near the end of the season, and, although they lost to East Lake, earlier they won a 4-team tournament in which East Lake came in Last. In that tournament they won against Berkeley Prep who plays for a State Title today.

As for the side debate about the best-ever player in Pinellas, consider this. In the state championship game against Venice (1997), Alex Sevillano had 22 kills in 29 attempts with no errors. She also was part of a two-person serve reception formation in every rotation (with Monique Marier, the coplayer of the year).

Kristin Fisher is one awesome player though. No doubt.