Space Coast rides Cotham's serves to 5th straight win at Titusville

Space Coast entered its road match at Titusville on Aug. 27 with all the momentum in the midst of a four-game winning streak.

While it wasn’t their cleanest performance of the season, the Vipers managed to sweep the Terriers 25-21, 25-14, 25-14 to extend their winning streak to five.

“It was not pretty. I’m not happy with that performance at all. I’m happy for wins, but I want to make sure we are being prepared to do the little things when we get to the better teams. We were trying to use this to get back to where we were like a week ago,” Space Coast head coach Jay Penn said. “We just continue to miss serves. Of course, Gwen (Cotham) comes in and does her thing and just doesn’t miss serves. I can’t have one person just doing the whole thing. We got so much hitting talent and we can’t spread the ball around when we’re sitting here putting the ball back and forth into their net.”

Space Coast jumped out to a big lead in the first set, but slowly saw it chip away by Titusville as it got to 23-21. However, the Vipers were able to close out the set on an ace from junior Gwen Cotham.

The Terriers led 10-9 in the second set, but Space Coast rattled off 13 unanswered points to win the set comfortably. The Vipers never trailed in the third set.

“It was not our best, but we’re definitely putting in the work,” Cotham said. “We have some stuff we need to fix, but we’re also a little tired right now.”

Cotham spearheaded the Vipers attack as the team’s setter. She made her mark, however, behind on the service line. Beginning with the ace serve that closed out the first set, Cotham recorded 10 aces including four during the team’s 13-0 second-set run.

“It’s just focusing on what I can control,” Cotham said. “Just making sure I’m putting my energy and my mindset to what I can do and just focusing on taking care of what I can for my team.”

The junior setter, who had 129 assists through the team’s first four games, was among the county leaders with 631 assists last year in her first full season in the role. Penn said Cotham is naturally a hitter but bought into the setter role last season full-time after years of finding the right player to fill that position.

“It’s so much better. Coach (Amanda) Hollis is really putting in effort to make sure I’m getting where I need to get,” Cotham said. “Coach Penn is giving us the opportunities to work on everything.”

Another standout player for the Vipers is senior Isabella Taylor. Her 51 kills and 54 digs through the first four matches led the team. Penn said Taylor has been underestimated her whole career because of her height.

“She’s (Taylor) got a rocket for an arm. She puts work every day in the gym and in the weight room,” Penn said. “She could go play libero at most colleges. That’s how good her defense is. The sky’s the limit for her.”

After losing to Brevard HEAT in four sets in the season opener, Space Coast has swept its last five matches including three in three days from Aug. 25-27.

“Our confidence is so much higher than the prior years,” Cotham said. “Our best players are really just looking for the best in every situation. We can go anywhere at this point. We’re just looking up from here.”

The Vipers improved to 5-1 and they'll head to Holy Trinity on Sept. 1. They are three wins away from matching last year’s season total.

“Last year, we were in this situation all year. We would be up 20-18, 20-19 and we have them on the ropes and then we just can’t close. Obviously this year, that has been the big stepping stone,” Penn said. “They girls understand they have power all over the place. Last year we just relied on Bella (Taylor) and teams would pick it up eventually. This year we’re able to go pin to pin and our middles have really stepped up.”

It was another frustrating night for Titusville as it struggled to break Space Coast’s big scoring runs.

“It was a tough game. Good competition. Something we’re seeing in Brevard is everybody’s getting better,” Titusville head coach Kennedi Johnson said. “Every school is getting better and more competitive so every game you show up to, it’s got to be a game that you want to win and you got to have the drive to win because teams are getting good so they’re going to beat you.”

Terriers senior Hayden Thibert spiked 5 kills from late first set to the end of the match. Thibert has paced the Terriers attack with 30 kills entering Aug. 27.

“Hayden’s (Thibert) a leader. She’s one of our captains,” Johnson said. “She jumps out of the gym. She’s got an insane vertical. It’s fun to watch her play. It’s fun to be her coach.”

Titusville dropped to 1-4 as it continues with its seven-match home stand on Sept. 1 against rivals Astronaut. Johnson said she’s more accountability with the expectation of returning to the state playoffs.

“I think I’ve got a special group of girls that is willing to do that and not get feelings hurt when maybe feelings normally would be hurt,” Johnson said. “We’re doing a good job of talking to one another. I’m excited to see how they hold each other accountable as the season goes on.”

Thursday’s volleyball scores:

Brevard HEAT def. Merritt Island Christian 3-2 (18-25, 25-11, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13)

In the first five-set match for both teams this season, it’s the Firehawks who prevailed to remain undefeated.

Brevard HEAT improved to 5-0 and it’ll host St. Edwards on Aug. 28 in a regional final rematch before heading to Edgewood on Sept. 1. The Cougars dropped to 4-4 and they’ll host Circle Christian on Aug. 28 before a road contest at Calvary Chapel on Sept. 1.

Morningside Academy def. Calvary Chapel 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16)

Calvary Chapel suffered its first defeat of the season. The Eagles moved to 3-1 and they’ll host Merritt Island Christian on Sept. 1.

Eau Gallie def. West Shore 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23)

The Commodores entered the win column in their second match of the season. They go to 1-1 and will play at Rockledge on Sept. 1.

West Shore dropped to 0-4 and it’ll host Cocoa Beach on Sept. 1.

Orangewood Christian def. Holy Trinity 3-0 (25-8, 25-14, 25-8)

Holy Trinity suffered its fourth-straight defeat as it faced one of the best teams in the country in Orangewood Christian, who is ranked No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/AVCA Super 25 girls national volleyball rankings.

The Tigers fell to 1-4 and they’ll host Space Coast on Sept. 1.

Melbourne def. Heritage 3-1 (25-21, 25-12, 17-25, 25-11)

It took an extra set, but the Bulldogs defeated the winless Panthers to move to 6-3 on the season. Melbourne’s next match is Aug. 31 against Harmony.

Heritage dropped to 0-4 and it’ll host Cocoa on Sept. 1.

Burns Sci-Tech def. Pineapple Cove West Melbourne 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-10)

Burns Sci-Tech tallied 21 kills and 13 aces in the victory over the Pioneers. Pineapple Cove West Melbourne dropped to 1-3 and it’ll travel to Bayside on Aug. 28 and Central Florida Christian Academy on Aug. 31.

Cocoa Beach def. Bayside 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 14-25, 25-20)

Cocoa Beach defeated Bayside for its second straight win and first at home this season. The Minutemen improved to 2-3 as they’ll head to West Shore on Sept. 1.

The Bears entered their Aug. 28 match against Pineapple Cove West Melbourne with a 1-3 record. They’ll head to Sebastian River on Sept. 1.

Palm Bay def. Cocoa 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-5)

The Pirates are back in the column after back-to-back defeats. They moved to 2-2 and host Pineapple Cove Palm Bay on Aug. 31.

Cocoa fell to 0-4 and it’ll head to Heritage on Sept. 1.

Edgewood def. Melbourne Central Catholic 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-22)

The Red Wolves bounced back from a defeat 24 hours earlier with a sweep of the Hustlers on the road.

Edgewood improved to 4-2 and it'll host Brevard HEAT on Sept. 1. Melbourne Central Catholic dropped to 3-2 and it'll play at Odyssey Charter on Aug. 31.

Viera def. Astronaut 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-16)

Viera remains undefeated with its third-straight sweep. It’ll put its 4-0 record on the line on Sept. 1 against Spruce Creek.

Astronaut fell to 1-2 and it’ll head to Titusville for a rivalry match on Sept. 1.

Odyssey Charter def. Pineapple Cove Palm Bay 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-23)

The Titans prevailed by the minimum margin of victory in each set to begin the season 2-0. They’ll host Melbourne Central Catholic on Aug. 31.

Pineapple Cove Palm Bay suffered its third-straight defeat to move to 1-3. It’ll compete in the Key West Tournament on Aug. 28-29 before traveling to Palm Bay on Aug. 31.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Coast rides Cotham's serves to 5th straight win at Titusville