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Durant Facing Tough Foes In Tournament

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By DAREK SHARP, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

PLANT CITY - By the time the Durant High volleyball team is finished today at the Berkeley Premier tournament, the Cougars might not be too excited about their win-loss record. But that's the idea.

Durant brings with it a state ranking of 10th in Class 6A, which would make the Cougars one of the top teams in most events.

This is no ordinary event.

'The competition is beyond tough,' Cougar head coach Dawn Hough said. 'And my girls know that. The tournament will most definitely help us to up our game and prepare us for our future opponents throughout the rest of the season.'

Of the 16 teams competing in the tournament that started Friday, nine are ranked in Florida, with three of those being No. 1 in their classification.

Durant was to begin play Friday against the best team in Florida's top classification, 6A's Gainesville Buchholz. After that, the Cougars were scheduled to take on St. Thomas Aquinas from Fort Lauderdale, No. 3 in 5A. Last year, Buchholz made the regional finals before falling to eventual 6A champ Winter Park.

Today at 9:40 a.m., Durant plays the 'weak' team in its pool, 3A No. 6 Academy of Holy Names.

If the Cougars finish first in their pool they will advance to the gold bracket, going up against the other three pool winners. The four second-place teams compete in the silver bracket this afternoon; the third-place finishers go to the bronze pool; and the last-place squads also compete.

Gold and silver semifinal play is set for 2 p.m. today, with the finals at 6 p.m., and the other two brackets' matches will be staged at noon and 4 p.m.

Each team is guaranteed five matches, and for Durant that could equate to the five toughest opponents on the schedule. But the regular season schedule is weighing more heavily on Hough's mind.

'We have very important district games that we have to concentrate on first,' Hough said.

Last week, the Cougars regained first place in 6A-8 with a win over Sarasota.
Mercy Academy from Louisville, Ky., is the lone out-of-state team in this weekend's tournament and it brings big-time credentials. Mercy is ranked No. 9 in the country by some national publications.

Also entered are Plant, the defending 5A champs and ranked No. 1, along with 3A top-ranked Orlando Lake Highland Prep. Host Berkeley Prep, 4811 Kelly Road, Tampa, and Evangelical Christian of Fort Myers are No. 2 in their classifications.

Admission is $5 per person for the day, with ages 9 and younger admitted free.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampa trib.com.

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