DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310865

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   46 lines

DEEP CREEK, I. RIVER WIN DISTRICT VOLLEYBALL TITLES

Michigan and North Carolina basketball fans can take heart in what happened at Oscar Smith on Thursday night.

The Deep Creek boys volleyball team, which got a new coach one week before the season opener, completed its unlikely run to the Southeastern District title, upsetting regular-season champion Western Branch 16-14, 13-15, 15-12.

``To be honest, I didn't think we'd do this,'' Hornets coach Richard Cox said after the match. ``I was coaching on the golf course this time last year, and I was sort of thrown in the dark. My three seniors (Matt Turner, James DeMarco, Ryan Gettier) were the flashlights showing the way.''

One of those flashlights lit up the No. 3 Bruins with power hits. Turner had a career-high 23 kills, including the match-winner.

``I've been waiting three years for this,'' an emotional Turner said. ``I just wasn't expecting this. Sometimes you have to dig deep and play with your heart.''

It was the power game that propelled the Hornets, ranked seventh in the area. Carlton Cooper had 13 kills, and Tyrone Smith added 12 kills.

Still, the Bruins jumped to a 7-1 lead in the first game, moving Cox to call a timeout to calm his team down.

``It was nerves early on,'' Cox said. ``But they weren't as bad tonight as they were last night (when the Hornets defeated Hickory in three sets to advance to the final). These guys have been getting more experienced. Nine of our 15 wins took the full three sets.''

The Hornets handed the Bruins their only district loss Oct. 7.

Meanwhile, the Indian River girls volleyball team - which lost to Great Bridge in last year's district tournament after winning the regular-season title - came into Thursday night's title match with the seventh-ranked Wildcats regular-season champs again. This time, the Braves won 15-13, 15-10.

Lisa Maholchic had seven kills and six digs, while Stacey Hammonds added eight kills and a string of four straight service points in leading the No. 3 Braves to the title.

``(Losing to the Wildcats) pumped us up early in the match,'' Maholchic said. ``This was about revenge. We wanted everything this year, and we got it.''

``This feels like the icing on the cake,'' added Braves coach Linda Rice. ``We wanted that (tournament) banner.''

Shanel Morelli served five straight points in the first game for the Braves.

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