The Bishop Moore Hornets are coming off a perfect week - Spring Sting tournament champs and a major win against their rival Lyman. It doesn’t get any better.

“It was really cool to beat Lyman. Lyman has been a rival for us the past couple of years and winning was huge for us, especially because the seniors had never beat them,” said Domanik Stratford.

Domanik is just a junior, but is starting and taking on responsibility for this Hornet squad. Coach Tom Snodgrass has taken to depending on Domanik in tough situations.

“He doesn’t get intimidated by big points or pressure moments because he has done it so many times through different tournaments, that he doesn’t shy away from it, he goes up and gets us points when we need them. It would be very hard for us to win if he does not play well,” said Snodgrass.

In the win against Lyman Domanik definitely didn’t feel the pressure. 24 kills, including the final point.

“It’s exhilarating. This is my first year starting so it was really cool to come in and be a game changer for the team and be a changing factor. It was really cool to help the team in that way,” said Stratford.

The junior with much more going for him than just solid volleyball skills.

“Domanik is like this 6’5 gentle giant. You look at him and maybe expect a different personality, but he is super laidback. He has put up with me yelling at him for years and is just a well-grounded kid, not a cocky kid. He just likes to work hard and it has gotten him pretty far,” said Snodgrass.

And it’ll be up to Domanik, and the rest of the Hornets, to see just how far they go this season in a very competitive district.

“Our district this year is really tough. We have teams like Dr. Phillips, Olympia, and Apopka. Winning our district is a really tough part of our state tournament this year so if we can get through that, and finish it off and play well, then we should be fine for the rest of the state tournament.”