Stinging end for the Bishop Moore Hornets | Observer Preps

There’s no more difficult a way to end the season than falling in the title game.

Unfortunately for Bishop Moore, that’s exactly how the 2017 season came to a close on Saturday, Nov. 18, in a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Ponte Vedra.

The game was a rematch from last year’s state finals, but unlike the 3-0 drubbing of the Sharks, the Hornets fell just short of attaining their third straight state title.

“Ponte Vedra was a very good team, and they were able to get us out of system a lot with their aggressive serving,” head coach Tanya Jarvis said. “It was a close match in sets — in one, three, and five they were just able to pull it out.”

The Sharks (25-5, 8-0) managed to slip by in those sets 26-24, 25-23 and 15-14 in the final round, but when the Hornets (23-8, 4-0) were on, they put in work. 

In sets two and four, the Hornets crushed the Sharks 25-13 and 25-14, but winning back-to-back sets proved to be too much as they finished just a few points shy of the title.

The loss was an encapsulation of a long season that, despite winning more than 20 games, has been one of the toughest the Hornets have had. Adversity set in early, even before the season even started, when three rising seniors decided to leave the team and switch their attention to training for club volleyball.

The combination between the loss of those players, all starters, and the fresh faces of eight newcomers to the varsity team, the Hornets were left to overcome uncharacteristic struggles.

“It was harder on their teammates than most people realized,” Jarvis said. “But at the end of the day, playing for your high school is something that it is very important, and something that we cherish and take very seriously — so if they don’t want to be there, that’s their choice.”

In the first eight games the Hornets started off in solid shape, going 8-0 with no issues despite the preseason offsets. In the next five games, the Hornets hit a hard skid as they went 1-4 against a tough slate of opponents. 

The Hornets made a solid recovery over the course of the rest of the season, going 10-3 with wins over Hagerty (21-3, 9-0) and Winter Park (23-7, 7-0). .

A large part of that success and fortitude during the season came from senior trio Claire Meier, Cameron Scheitzach and Marlie Monserez.

Meier, a middle blocker, led the team in total blocks with 35, while picking up a second best 201 kills for the season. The senior also had 187 digs and 16 aces.

Back at the setter position, Scheitzach led the Hornets with 477 assists on 1,312 ball-handling attempts. She also managed a team third-best in digs (215) while snagging 15 blocks and a second-best in aces (46).

Alongside Scheitzach at the setter position, Monserez played a pivotal role for the Hornets, as she led the team in kills (274) and was tied for third on the team with 18 blocks.

Although the three will be going on to continue their play at the college level, there still will be some talent going forward.

One notable player throughout the 2017 campaign was junior libero Arianna Arjomand, who led the team in both digs (493) and assists (51) this season.

Jarvis will look to her rising players to follow in the footsteps of their former leaders.

“One of the really cool things about playing a high school sport is these girls that didn’t get a lot of play time, or no play time at all, we were able to fill with experience from seniors that are leaving,” Jarvis said.