Bishop Verot volleyball coach Wynn DePasquale already has seen her team respond to some big challenges this season. So she had extreme confidence that the Vikings would be ready for their latest test Monday against unbeaten Gulf Coast.

The host Vikings set the tone immediately with inspired play and good execution. Senior setter Ciara Brown moved the ball around to each of the explosive hitters, leading to some powerful finishes.

After grabbing the opening game, the Vikings remained in command and took the match 25-17, 25-20, 25-15 to improve to 13-0 on the season.

It’s the first loss for the Sharks (14-1). The Vikings also defeated rival Fort Myers in a five-game battle of unbeaten teams back on Sept. 16.

In that contest, the Vikings rallied to win game four and then took the decisive fifth game in front of a raucous crowd.

“We have a deep team that has a lot of experience,” DePasquale said. “I have the utmost faith in them. We’ve been in a couple of tough situations before, and they showed a nice, quiet confidence.”

The Vikings seemed determine to get off to a fast start against the Sharks and did so by taking game one.

Brown, the 5-foot-10 setter, delivered 11 of her 31 assists in the opening game.

She distributed those assists in a variety of ways – some were backsets, while others were sent to the far side just as the defense was getting in position.

That quick decision-making proved to be effective in keeping the defense off balance and giving the Vikings’ hitters an opportunity to swing at only one blocker.

Early on, 6-foot senior Christa Brooks and 5-9 junior Sarah Toggweiler were the primary options at the net. For the match, Toggweiler tallied 14 kills and Brooks had 11.

Still, Gulf Coast kept it close for the majority of the first game until at 18-15, when the Vikings made their move with four straight points. Brown assisted Caley Feeney and Amanda Washburn for kills to trigger that spurt.

DePasquale said it’s a luxury to have so many power hitters.

“Ciara does a good job communicating with the hitters and is able to hold the middle blockers a lot of times,” DePasquale said, “and lucky for her we have a lot of options. Wherever she sets the ball she knows she’s setting to somebody that can really swing.”

The Sharks picked up their intensity after dropping the opening game, and it increased even more when back-to-back calls went against them, causing some frustration with the officials.

The added emotion gave them a brief spark, but the Vikings also picked up their play and turned a 3-2 deficit into a 10-5 lead.

Senior Katie Clinger became the go-to hitter during the midway portion of game two, and recorded four straight points for the Vikings.

The Sharks got as close as 22-20, but the Vikings scored the last three points.

The Vikings then cruised rather handily in game three as the Sharks conceded slightly, and struggled to find holes in the defense.

Senior Katie Mosher was one of the defensive leaders for the Vikings, finishing with 18 digs.

The Vikings host Island Coast Tuesday night in a District 3A-12 match.