Gulf Coast HEAT proved they can win big last Tuesday (they won by three) and on Monday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the North Port Bobcats 3-2. This was a revenge game for the Lions: when they faced off against the Bobcats back in September, they had to take a 3-0 loss.
Gulf Coast HEAT had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 22-25, 16-25, 25-17, 25-14, 15-9.
Halle Gardner paced Gulf Coast HEAT's offense, picking up 23 kills. Gardner got some help from Payton Haines and her 15 assists. Telan Gardner controlled things from the service line, finishing with five aces.
Despite the defeat, North Port had strong showings from Natalie Shelton, who had 18 digs, and Sarah Martinez, who had four digs and two aces. Martinez is on a roll when it comes to aces, as she's now served two or more in each of the last three games she's played.
Lions
| 10/06/25 vs North Port | 3-2 |
| 09/30/25 vs The Classical Academy of Sarasota | 3-0 |
| 09/29/25 @ Bayshore | 3-0 |
The victory was the third in a row for Gulf Coast HEAT, bringing their record up to 9-5. As for North Port, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-14.
Gulf Coast HEAT has already played their next match, a 3-0 loss against Sarasota Christian on the 15th. As for North Port, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 3-0 win against Booker on the 7th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
