Buchholz tops Bishop Moore for Gator Town title

<p>The last time the Buchholz volleyball team won its home Gator Town Classic tournament, the team went on to win the state championship.</p><p> While Coach Jeff Reavis isn't ready to make any comparisons to 2007 club, he can at least claim one common achievement with this year's team after Saturday's tournament championship match against Orlando Bishop Moore.</p><p> The Bobcats lost their entire starting unit from last year's club, but stormed into this season with five wins over the weekend, including a 27-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-16 title-game win over the Hornets. The Gator Town championship is the team's second in the event's five-year history.</p><p> "We played really well," said Reavis, whose team defeated Jacksonville Bolles earlier in the day to advance to the title game. "We played hard. We understand exactly who we are and what we have to do...We have to play as hard as we can as long as we can."</p><p> The Bobcats (5-0) gave up a lot of height to the Bishop Moore team, but equalized the disadvantage with suffocating defense. The Hornets (4-1) advanced to the championship game with a four-game victory over Gainesville High School, where Bishop Moore sophomore Lindsey Owens compiled 17 kills in a dominating performance. Against the Bobcats, the 5-foot-11 inch outside hitter wasn't as effective. Though she added 11 kills to her totals, she was too aggressive on several swings that accounted for seven hitting errors. Several of Owens' hard-hitting spikes resulted in Bobcat digs.</p><p> "Our defense is ridiculous," said senior Alyssa James, who totaled 19 kills on the day. "I could never be more proud of our defense."</p><p> Buchholz hit all of its spots and was in the right place at the right time through a back-and-forth first set. Neither team took control early and the Bobcats needed 12 ties and six lead changes to claim the game.</p><p> The momentum clearly swung to the home team in the second game as Gigi Meyer served three straight aces in an early six-point run that put the team ahead for good. Meyer finished the day's two matches with 92 assists to lead all players and earn tournament MVP.</p><p> "This means a lot to me because I've never won anything like this in my high school career," said Meyer, who was a JV player, while her sister Nicki was a starter during the state title season. "It means a lot more that I was able to do it in my senior year, since this is my last chance."</p><p> Bishop Moore jumped out to a 14-6 lead early in the third set, but allowed the Bobcats to trim the advantage to 16-13 on a 6-1 run. The Hornets regained their composure just in time to string together five consecutive points to seal the game.</p><p> The momentum remained on that side of the court when the teams switched sides. Buchholz took a match-high 11-point lead early and never looked back. Led on the offensive by sophomore Caroline Redmond's 33 combined kills (in two games) and on defense by all-tournament team member Carolyn Fouts' 23 combined digs, the Bobcats breezed through the final set to add another trophy to the school's growing collection.</p><p> Gainesville High (5-1) bounced back from the loss to Bishop Moore to claim a four-set, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20 victory over Bolles to secure third place in the tournament.</p>