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Durant's April Williams goes up to make a play at the net
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Sarah Herman and Hannah Harburg congratulate each other during the first set.
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The Cougars and Bulls battled back and forth throughout the match.
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Sarah Herman and Gabrielle Atkins meet Bloomingdale's Alex Neyra at the net.
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Durant's bench gets hyped following a team point.
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Durant got behind on the scoreboard but continued to play hard.
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Durant players come together during a timeout to regain focus.
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Durant players quickly celebrated together after each team point.
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Mabreigh Walker gets ready to make a serve.
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The Cougars did everything in their power to keep Bloomingdale from scoring points.
Though the end result of Thursday’s 8A-District 9 championship game wasn’t what Durant wanted, those Cougars never quit.
They kept Bloomingdale on its toes through four sets of action in East Bay High School’s gymnasium but lost, 3-1, to the Bulls.
In the first set, both teams swapped leads back and forth until the Bulls pulled ahead, 19-18, and did not trail again. The Cougars used a fierce rally to pull within one point of Bloomingdale, 24-23, but the Bulls finished the set at 25-23 before Durant could force another tie.
Bloomingdale started off hot in the second set, cruising to an early 10-2 lead before Durant could fight back. After the Cougars cut the Bulls’ lead to 12-10, the Bulls scored seven unanswered points and took control of the set. Bloomingdale went on to win it, 25-20.
Durant was able to win the third set after taking control with a 14-8 lead — the Cougars’ largest of the night — and pulling off some late-set heroics. During a timeout just after the Bulls rallied back to tie the set at 21-21, a group of Bloomingdale students loudly congratulated the Bulls on the district title they had yet to win. Though the Bulls did pull ahead, 24-23, a series of mistakes on their part allowed the Cougars to come back and win the set, 26-24.
The fourth set was a grind for both teams, featuring eight lead changes and 13 ties. No one could hold an advantage for long until Bloomingdale took an 18-17 lead and did not look back. Though the Cougars did manage to score two more points, the Bulls used a series of well-placed hits to cruise past Durant and win the set, 25-19.
Sarah Herman led the Cougars with 14 kills and added two blocks, and Amber Williams led the team with 17 digs and four aces. April Williams added 10 kills and Ashley Williams finished with 19 assists.
The district championship appearance was the team’s first under new head coach Nicole Higgins, who took the reins this year after Brittany Wade’s departure. The Cougars made it to the final round with a 3-0 quarterfinal win over Lennard on Monday and a 3-1 semifinal win over Tampa Bay Tech on Tuesday.
Durant faced Palm Harbor University on Wednesday in the first round of the FHSAA regional tournament. Results from the game were not available at press time.
