PUNTA GORDA – After Port Charlotte’s No. 1 duo of Nygeria Hart and Hailey Cohen tripped up Abbie Willis and Julia Damico to knot Tuesday’s beach volleyball match with Charlotte at 2-2, it all came down to the battle between the No. 3 tandems.
Earlier this season, that would have spelled doom for the Tarpons’ sisterly pairing of Kylie and Keira Vasquez.
Port Charlotte’s Lenaea Dennard and Hannah Clarke had bested the Vasquez sisters in a three-set marathon earlier this season and on Tuesday appeared ready for a redux. Alas, the siblings ultimately pulled out a 21-14, 20-22, 15-11 victory and Charlotte won the day.
After spending the first half of the season with different partners, co-head coaches Alyssa Hurley and JaNhea Beisner decided to pair the Vasquez sisters hoping the sibling bond would click in the sand.
“It’s definitely working,” Hurley said. “They’ve worked through sum ruts, but they’re just growing stronger. And last time we played Port Charlotte, it went three sets and they lost, so this was kind of like their revenge game.”
Hart and Cohen created the high stakes of the No. 3 match by powering past Willis and Damico during a dominating turn in the third set of their match.
The Pirates’ No. 1s took the opening set 21-15, but Willis and Damico answered by closing strong in the second set for a 21-17 win. During those opening sets, however, the die had been cast – Charlotte was struggling to find any patch of sand Hart couldn’t reach.
“I’m sure it’s frustrating (for other teams),” Port Charlotte head coach Marisa Beisner said. “That’s one of the things that we push a lot is her just taking up space on the court. It’s going to help us win.”
Cohen has proven to be the perfect teammate for Hart this season.
“Those two have been playing together for a while now,” Beisner said. “They just have that trust.”
That much was on display as the deciding third set began. Hart and Cohen blasted out to a 10-1 lead and never looked back, taking the match with a 15-5 verdict.
“She’s a great player,” Hurley said of Hart. “She takes up a lot of space on her block and she’s fast. We don’t get to see a lot of that caliber of player, so that’s something we’ve got to work on.”
Fortunately for Charlotte, the Tarpons proved to have a little more depth.
Earlier, Charlotte’s No. 2 duo of Juliet Hurley and Hanna Hall dispatched Port Charlotte’s Elyse Motuzas and Keira Hundley, 21-4, 21-15. Meanwhile, Sammy Vega and Ava Hall paired up to take down Port Charlotte’s No. 4 duo of Cora McGinnes and Angelina Oliveira, 21-15, 21-13.
While the Vasquez sisters labored through the first two sets against Dennard and Clarke, Port Charlotte’s No. 5 team of Harlee Tudor and Olivia Oliver assured the 2-2 deadline by winning their match, 21-14, 21-19.
With players from both teams lining the court, Kylie and Keira Vasquez traded blows with Dennard and Clarke, neither duo pulling ahead by more than a point after a Kylie Vasquez error pulled Port Charlotte within 4-3.
But when Dennard’s serve went into the net to give Charlotte a 13-11 lead, that little sliver of momentum was enough. Kylie Vasquez followed with an ace, then after an extended volley, Port Charlotte’s shot went into the net, securing the win for the Tarpons.
Charlotte improved to 8-3 on the season with one match remaining against Venice on Thursday at Carmalita Park. Port Charlotte (8-6) will turn around and play host to senior night on Wednesday against Community School of Naples.
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