Despite some first-game nervousness, the Ida Baker Bulldogs came together Tuesday night to hand city rival Cape Coral a straight-set defeat in the volleyball season-opening match for both teams.

The Bulldogs got the better of the Seahawks in the first game 25-21 and used the confidence-builder to complete the sweep 25-12, 25-9.

“I was very concerned at the start,” said Bulldogs coach Renee Van Horn. “We were a bit shaky at first and we were missing two of our three returning players. These girls had not played together a lot, but they really started to mesh later in the match.”

The three absent players – juniors Emily Gibson, Payton Van Horn and Brenna Hambsch – were participating in a college soccer showcase event in Orlando.

“The players who filled in really stepped up tonight,” said Van Horn. “Sierra Myers was very nervous for her first varsity start, but she got in a groove.”

Whenever the Bulldogs had to, it seemed, they would put together a multi-point run. They made runs of five consecutive points or more six times. Their longest string was 15 in a row at the start of the third game, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 15-2 gap.

By comparison, Cape had one five-point burst that occurred at the tail end of the first game when they cut Baker’s 23-16 lead to 23-21.

“I was very disappointed,” said Seahawks coach Lindsey Conley. “This was not our best game. We had moments of greatness and looked fabulous at times, but we have to get rid of our inconsistencies and we missed too many serves.”

Junior Alexis Ross led the Bulldogs with six kills with Myers, a junior, contributing five kills. Kali Nordquist, another junior, earned top server honors with that 15-point run in the third game. She also had seven assists. Junior Madison Kobs was the next-best server with two five-point runs and added nine assists.

Sophomore libero Lexi Goldberg contributed 10 digs for the Bulldogs, who host South Fort Myers next Tuesday.

Junior Alison Harper had a game-high eight kills for the Seahawks. Alysia Figueroa led the team with four blocks, Kaitlin Upton had six digs and Kristie Maselter handed out a game-high 12 assists.

The Seahawks return to the court Wednesday at Gulf Coast with their third straight road match on Thursday at South Fort Myers.

North Fort Myers 3, Mariner 0: A lack of execution at the net was the key ingredient in Mariner’s 25-12, 25-18, 25-8 defeat at North Fort Myers Tuesday night.

“Our passing as a team went very well, but we didn’t execute well up front,” said Tritons coach Briska Wolfe.

Wolfe said Heather Getman had the best passing performance while Abby Willis led the team in kills and aces with three each.

The Tritons (1-1) host Island Coast Thursday night.

Gateway Charter 3, Island Coast 0: Putting together a solid middle game was all Island Coast could boast about in a 25-10, 26-24, 25-11 loss to Gateway Charter.

Serving as a team was good as the Gators hit the 95-percent mark in serve accuracy, but had little to show for it.

The Gators (0-2) play at Mariner Thursday night.

Seacrest 3, Oasis 0: Oasis had the unenviable task of facing the defending district champion Seacrest in its season-opening match. Seacrest showed its strength in a 25-10, 25-6, 25-14 triumph.

Showing few positives in the match, Oasis was led in serving by Emma Nelson’s three aces. The Sharks play again at Sarasota Christian Thursday.

Boys Golf

Ida Baker 154, Fort Myers 158, Gulf Coast 161: Battling a stiff breeze, the Ida Baker Bulldogs recorded their first two wins of the season Tuesday by beating Fort Myers and Gulf Coast at Arrowhead Golf Club in Naples.

Gulf Coast’s Corey Childers took match medalist honors with a 2-under-par 34, but the Sharks (0-2) came up short overall.

Seniors Dylan Fine and Tyler Doyle led the Bulldogs with solid rounds of 37 and 38, respectively. Sophomore Anthony Myers added a 38 while seniors Michael Faulkner and Bryr Austen each turned in the team’s fourth-best score at 41.

The Green Wave (2-1) rode a trio of 39s by Jonathan Lowrey, Sam Murphy and Ryan Fowler.

Baker (2-0) hosts Lehigh Thursday at Palmetto Pine Country Club.

Ida Baker 154 – Dylan Fine 37, Tyler Doyle 38, Anthony Myers 38, Michael Faulkner 41, Bryr Austen 41.

Fort Myers 158 – Jonathan Lowrey 39, Sam Murphy 39, Ryan Fowler 39, Mike Andre 41.

Gulf Coast 161 – Corey Childers 34, Matt Leite 41, Thomas Reber 42, Luke Hammock 44.

Swimming

Cypress Lake at Cape Coral: Cape Coral easily swept Cypress Lake in the season opening meet of the season Tuesday night.

The Seahawk girls rolled to a 110-49 win behind Michaela Steakley and Monica Jaeger with double event wins each.

The Seahawk boys cruised 124-46 by winning all 11 events. Mike Padula turned in a personal best time of 1:18.56 in the 100 breaststroke for his first varsity win.

The Seahawks are back in the water Thursday for a home meet against Port Charlotte and North Port.

Girls

Cape Coral 110, Cypress Lake 49

200 medley relay – 1. Cape Coral 2:06.63; 200 free – 1. Jennifer Crawford (CC) 2:19.82; 200 IM – 1. Michaela Steakley (CC) 2:33.31; 50 free – 1. Samantha Morreal (CC) 30.69; 100 fly – 1. Michaela Steakley 1:13.08; 100 free – 1. Monica Jaeger (CC) 59.43; 500 free – 1. Hannah Brown (CL) 5:46.37; 200 free relay – 1. Cypress Lake 2:08.31; 100 back – 1. Monica Jaeger (CC) 1:08.39; 100 breast – 1. Hannah Brown (CL) 1:15.98; 400 free relay – 1. Cape Coral 4:06.95.

Boys

Cape Coral 124, Cypress Lake 46

200 medley relay – 1. Cape Coral 1:54.89; 200 free – 1. Andrew Greene (CC) 2:08.12; 200 IM – 1. Corey Connell (CC) 2:29.86; 50 free – 1. Graham Manza (CC) 24.45; 100 fly – 1. Rico Dall (CC) 1:01.27; 100 free – 1. Nick Keating (CC) 54.64; 500 free – 1. Graham Manza (CC) 5:12.88; 200 free relay – 1. Cape Coral 1:43.27; 100 back – 1. Tyler Thresher (CC) 1:02.87; 100 breast – 1. Mike Padula (CC) 1:18.56; 400 free relay – 1. Cape Coral 3:47.10.