Brevard HEAT's dynamic offense leads to sweep of Melbourne CC

Melbourne Central Catholic traveled to Palm Bay on Aug. 25 to play Brevard HEAT in a matchup featuring undefeated teams.

Brevard HEAT’s strong serving and balanced attack propelled the Firehawks to the sweep 25-12, 25-18, 25-16.

“Our first set was really strong,” Brevard HEAT head coach Darrah Bowen said. “We struggled a little bit set two and three and just played.

The Firehawks ended the match with 26 kills and 14 aces. Senior Aine Hanley led the attack with 6 kills and 3 aces. Senior setter Anna Livengood comprised nearly have of the service aces with 6 to go with 2 kills. Sophomore Charis Bennett and senior Brooke Arce recorded 6 and 5 kills, respectively.

“We really work hard to make our serve an offensive weapon instead of just getting it over and it showed,” Bowen said.

Livengood's presence was felt all over the court. The senior setter recorded a pair of dump kills in the first set. In set two, Livengood served 3 aces in 4 points fueling an 11-4 run to close out the second set.

“Just my coach, my teammates staying behind me after I missed my first serve,” Livengood said. “My coach and my teammates said serve it this time. We’re here to back you up. Them pushing me instead of being angry with me led me to get those aces.”

Livengood, who dished out 52 assists through the first three games, is still building chemistry with the new players on the floor following graduations and transfers. She led the team with 680 assists last season.

“Coming into this season, we have a lot of key pieces missing. We have a couple girls that went and played college so just missing them this year,” Livengood said. “We’ve had a couple girls come in transferring. A lot of new pieces we weren’t really expecting that really came in and helped make this team what it is now.”

Bowen coaches Hanley during the club season. The senior, who recorded 128 kills last season, has embraced playing back row this season and has become a productive defender with 40 digs through the first three games.

“(Hanley) came into the (club) team where she had to learn to be a leader. She embraced it and became the strongest player we had. This year, she just rolled with that,” Bowen said. “She wasn’t quite sure coming in what she looked like as an outside because she set for us the last couple years. She has just owned that back row, she talks loud, she encourages everyone. I don’t want to take her off the court.”

Brevard HEAT improved to 4-0 with its third-straight sweep after defeating Space Coast in 4 sets in the opener.

“I think we got a pretty solid group,” Livengood said. “I think we’re going to go pretty far in districts, regionals. I think as long as we come and reach our potential, I think we could go pretty far.”

The Firehawks head to Merritt Island Christian on Aug. 27 before a regional final rematch with St. Edward’s on Aug. 28. Bowen said she believes the team is well positioned to reach the state semifinals for the second time in 3 years.

“We’ve got a little more depth just from our front row and our back row where we didn’t have that last year,” Bowen said. “When we were missing a player, we were stuck. This year we actually have some height and it’s going to make a difference.”

Errors plagued Melbourne Central Catholic in its first defeat of the season. The Hustlers ended the game with 32 attacking and service errors to go with 14 kills and 5 aces.

“It wasn’t our best. I just think we underestimated our competition after winning a few games in a row,” Melbourne Central Catholic head coach Jessica McGuire said. “When the atmosphere is different, ceiling’s lower and the court is shorter, it’s easier to get rattled. We had our good moments, but we need to be more consistent.”

MCC senior Catalina Mendoza led the team with 6 kills and 2 aces. Junior Rossi Deane chipped in with 5 kills.

In the back row, senior Emma Martin has anchored Hustlers defense. Martin dug a team-high 27 balls raising her total to 66 through four matches.

“(Martin’s) been great,” McGuire said. “Lots of awesome digs and usually amazing passes as well. She’s really great and talkative and a good senior leader on our team.”

In McGuire’s first season, MCC began the season 2-0 for the first time since 2015. The Hustlers swept Cocoa Beach and defeated Titusville in five sets. The fast start, McGuire said, injected confidence into the squad.

“That was awesome. It was tough and that set the tone. We had our best setter get injured. She tore her ACL and we were able to pull off that game,” McGuire said. “We beat Cocoa Beach and Titusville and they were all crying at the end. They hadn’t beaten them additionally with a whole new lineup.”

Melbourne Central Catholic hosts West Shore on Aug. 26 and Edgewood on Aug. 27. In search for its first winning season since 2014, McGuire said she believes the team is capable of turning heads this season.

“We are trying to win at least 75% of our games,” McGuire said. “I think they only won 30% last year and I hope it’s higher and we’re ending up first or second in our district tournament and to go far. I think they have the capability. They just have to believe it because they’ve come from like 12 years of losing seasons.”

Odyssey Charter swept Halifax Academy in its season opener behind 27 kills and 23 aces. Senior Lily Gilmore recorded 6 kills and a team-high 6 aces. Freshman Karigan Ford-Torres spiked a team-high 8 kills to go with 5 aces. Senior Lauren Janesky tallied 20 assists and 5 aces.

The Titans begin the year 1-0 and they’ll head to Pineapple Cove Palm Bay on Aug. 27.

The Red Wolves picked up their second sweep of the season as sophomore Maya Ferguson led the attack with 9 kills and 7 aces. They finished with 26 kills and 18 aces as a team.

Junior Adison Carter posted a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs. Junior Kelsey Kennedy and senior Macy Ferguson spiked 7 and 5 kills, respectively.

Edgewood improved to 3-1 and it’ll play back-to-back road games at Space Coast on Aug. 26 and Melbourne Central Catholic on Aug. 27. Rockledge fell to 0-4 and it’ll host Eau Gallie on Sept. 1.

In a hotly contested match, Viera picks up its second home win in a row with a sweep of Holy Trinity.

The Hawks moved to 3-0 and will head to Astronaut on Aug. 27. The Tigers lost their second game in a row and will bring a 1-2 record into their next match versus Vero Beach on Aug. 26 before heading to Orangewood Christian on Aug. 27.

The Mustangs finished with three attackers in double-figure kills. Junior Ema Michell recorded a dozen kills with junior Lydia Scott and senior Bella Becker finishing with 11 kills each.

Michell and senior Amber Ives served 4 aces. Scott blocked 4 shots with Michell, Becker and junior Peyton Riordan ending the match with 3 blocks each. Ives completed the night with 19 assists.

Merritt Island heads into a big weekend with a 4-0 record. The Mustangs play back-to-back road games against state finalists in defending Class 3A champion Calvary Christian Clearwater on Aug. 28 and Class 2A runner-up First Baptist Academy on Aug. 29.

Bayside entered the win column for the first time this season sweeping Cocoa at home.

The Bears improve to 1-2 and they’ll play at Cocoa Beach on Aug. 27. The Tigers drop to 0-2 and will host the Minutemen on Aug. 26 before heading to Palm Bay on Aug. 27.

Melbourne earned the sweep in its home opener. The Bulldogs went 3-2 in the SSAA Invitational on Aug. 21-22 earning wins over Geneva Classical Academy, Evangelical Christian and Cambridge Christian. Melbourne lost to Lakewood Ranch and Southland Christian.

The Bulldogs moved to 5-3 and they’ll play at Heritage on Aug. 27.

The Scorpions won their third straight match in a game featuring state playoff teams from a year ago.

Titusville senior Hayden Thibert led the team with 10 kills. Sophomore Natalie Regan recorded 8 kills and a team-high 6 aces. Seniors Zoe Silva and Paisley Perry recorded double-figures assists with 14 and 12, respectively.

Satellite takes a 3-1 record into its next match at Merritt Island on Sept. 1. Titusville brings a 1-3 record into its next match versus Space Coast on Aug. 27.

The Vipers spoil the season and home opener for Eau Gallie with a convincing sweep. They improve to 3-1 and they’ll face Edgewood on Aug. 26 and Titusville on Aug. 27.

Eau Gallie starts the season 0-1 and it’ll head to West Shore on Aug. 27.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard HEAT's dynamic offense leads to sweep of Melbourne CC