TAMPA — Eleven of Berkeley Prep’s 14 players are underclassmen. Tampa Prep returned five of six starters from a 2013 region final team. On paper, the Terrapins should have run away with Tuesday’s volleyball match on their home court.
But in that kind of meeting between rivals, Tampa Prep coach Andrew Wilson knows anything goes.
Like the third-year coach said he expected, the Bucs stayed in it early in sets, even leading at least once in all three. As the games went on, though, the Bucs’ mistakes began piling up. Tampa Prep won the first set on a Berkeley Prep service error.
Experience continued to triumph for the rest of the night, as Tampa Prep beat Berkeley Prep 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-15) for the second straight time.
“That’s a good team,” Wilson said of the Bucs. “When they can cut down on their errors, they can play with people.”
In the second set, that’s exactly what Berkeley Prep (5-3) did. The Bucs, who had four service errors in the first game, played sharper in the next, trading points with the Terrapins (9-0) and tying the score 11 times.
The mistakes didn’t stop the Bucs in Game 2 but Tampa Prep outside hitter Ariana Mosley did, coming up with seven kills in the second set, including the winner.
Mosley was proud of her big night but said she was even more excited about how her team stayed calm to win the long points that filled Tuesday’s match.
“It definitely shows that we can flow with each other on the court, and we know where to go with whoever we’re next to,” said Mosley, who led Tampa Prep with 15 kills. “It’s easier when you’ve been playing with them for a long time.”
The Bucs don’t have that luxury. Berkeley Prep, which owns 15 state titles, graduated five seniors last season, including current Stanford player and two-time Times’ all-Suncoast Player of the Year Sidney Brown.
In recent years, Berkeley Prep has had the Terrapins’ number. It used to be one of Tampa Prep’s main goals every season to win the rivalry match.
But now that the Terrapins have done it twice in a row, Mosley said, the Terrapins realize they can reach for so much more.
“It shows how much we’ve progressed as a team,” she said.
Contact Kelly Parsons at kparsons@tampabay.com. Follow @_kellyparsons.