Steinbrenner Warriors Fall in Regional Final

The Steinbrenner Warriors volleyball team was already in uncharted waters, as they coasted through a Clearwater team on Tuesday, advancing to the regional finals.

"It was a great feeling advancing to the regional finals that night (in Clearwater)," coach Laura Stegenga said. "We also found out that night that Madison (Seuzeneau) got an offer from Spring Hill College in Alabama."

The Warriors have never advanced past the regional semifinals in school history.

On Saturday, they marched straight into a Venetian buzzsaw. The Venice Indians are not too far removed from a state championship and were ranked third in the state. They were just too powerful and too precise for a young Warrior team in their first regional final.

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"This is a young team and big-time experience for them," Stegenga said. "We can only go up from here."

The Indians jumped all over the Warriors in set one, stretching out a 15-4 lead before finally closing out the set at 25-12. The Warriors mustered a 4-0 run in the set but that was all.

The second set held promise as sophomore Laura Heldt and junior Casey McLean scored the first two points but the Indians ran away with it from there, taking it 25-11.

The Warriors had a very good third set and led at 9-7. Senior libero Natalia Campos finally found her groove and started putting her digs in the setter's box and it galvanized the team. However, the power Venice hitting behind match-leading Holly Mattmuller with eight kills, was just too much for the Warriors on Saturday afternoon. 

The Warriors finish the season 19-9 and will return all but three seniors to a team that has been dominant in Hillsborough County all year long.