The high school volleyball season is officially over.
However, area seniors get one last opportunity to wear their jersey this Thursday night from 5-9 p.m.
For the second straight year, Legacy Park Multipurpose Center in Alachua will host “The Prep Zone All-Star Showcase” presented by 399Sports.
Over 40 seniors have signed up to play in the event, including over 30 players from teams in the Mainstreet Daily News (MDN) coverage area.
There will be four teams from as far north as Suwannee County, South to Marion County, East to Putnam County, and West to the Tri-County area.
Practice is at 5 p.m. followed by the semifinals at 6 p.m. on side-by-side courts. The consolation and championship games will be played 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first games around 7:30 p.m. All games will be a best-of-3 format.
Branford, which defeated defending state champion Baker in the Rural state semifinals but lost to Liberty County (Bristol) in the title game, will have middle hitter Addison Folsom and setter Andi Sabourin on the North team.
That team will be coached by Trudy Andrews of Columbia (Lake City), which will have two players (MB/RS Kayla Goodloe and L Avery Sandlin), and Tifani Knox of Union County (Lake Butler), which will also have a pair of players on the team (OH Layla Barber and S Kamryn Southerland).
Union County lost a close 5-set match at Branford in the Rural Region 3 Final on Oct. 29.
The East team is led by middle blocker Samiyah Daniels of Eastside and S/OPP Cassidy McDonald of Oak Hall School.
The Rams and the Eagles will each have three players on the team. Daniels is joined by L Kieara Hall and S/OH/RS Joanna Williams, while McDonald is joined by DS/L Sara Duggan and L Sophie Thompson.
Williams’ mother, Rachel, and McDonald’s father, Perry, are co-coaches for the West team. They are two of several coaches in the area who had a daughter playing volleyball this season.
Oak Hall won a fourth straight district title and a first-round playoff game this year in Class 2A under Perry McDonald, who announced his retirement from coaching earlier this year after 28 years on the sidelines.
Mya Jennings (OPP/OH/DS) and MB/MH Emma Stanley of Keystone Heights are on the East team, while P.K. Yonge, which lost in the district title game to Oak Hall, placed its only senior on the team (S Trinity Jacobs).
Buchholz (OH/DS Leila Ricks and L/DS Rosy Logan), Dixie County (Cross City) (S/RS/OH Kailey Edmonds and MB/OH/RS Hailey Moody), Newberry (OH/MB Chloe Jones and L/S Malana Kennard) and The Rock (OH/DS Mary Massias and S Abigail Vaillancourt) all placed two players each on the West team, which is coached by The Rock’s Ruben Perez and assistant coach Darrel Card.
Vaillancourt and Massias, a Lehigh University signee, helped lead The Rock to a national title this season.
In two weeks, MDN will be releasing its Bosshardt Realty All Area volleyball teams. Of the players participating on Thursday, 10 of them will be on our first or second small school and/or big school team.
Other participating schools include Palatka, Interlachen, Dunnellon, Forest (Ocala), West Port (Ocala), Lake Weir (Ocala) and North Marion (Citra).
Admission for the game(s) will be $10 per adult (day pass), $5 for students, and kids under 5 will be admitted for free. Cash and credit card will both be accepted.
Only high school coaches with FHSAA State Series or FACA coaches card, media and college scouts will be granted free complimentary admission to the game.
2024 All-Star teams
NORTH
Addison Folsom MH, Branford
Andi Sabourin S, Branford
Kayla Goodloe MB/RS, Columbia (Lake City)
Avery Sandlin L, Columbia (Lake City)
Dilyn Koon MH/OH, First Christian (High Springs)
Cassidy Nesselt MH, Fort White
Libby Beach S/RS, Lafayette (Mayo)
Rylee Skillman OH, Lafayette (Mayo)
Layla Barber OH, Union County (Lake Butler)
Kamryn Southerland S, Union County (Lake Butler)
Coaches – Trudy Andrews (Columbia) and Tifani Knox (Union County)
EAST
Kieara Hall L, Eastside
Joanna Williams S/OH/RS, Eastside
Samiyah Daniels MB, Eastside
Brianna Webber OH/MH, Interlachen
Mya Jennings OPP, OH, DS, Keystone Heights
Emma Stanley MB, MH, Keystone Heights
Cassidy McDonald S/OH/OPP, Oak Hall
Sara Duggan DS/L, Oak Hall
Sophie Thompson L, Oak Hall
Kenadie Wilkinson L/S/OH, Palatka
Mackenzie Thomas OPP/MB, Palatka
Trinity Jacobs S, P.K. Yonge
Coaches – Perry McDonald (Oak Hall) and Rachel Williams (Eastside)
WEST
Alaina Thomas L, Bell
Leila Ricks OH/DS, Buchholz
Rosy Logan, Buchholz
Kaytie Bailey MB/OH, Cedar Key
Trinity DeWees MB, Chiefland
Kailey Edmonds S/RS/OH, Dixie County
Hailey Moody MB/OH/RS, Dixie County
Chloe Jones OH/MB, Newberry
Malana Kennard L/S, Newberry
Mary Massias OH/DS, The Rock
Abigail Vaillancourt S, The Rock
Koi Perry MB, Trenton
Chanitey James OPP/OH, Williston
Coaches – Ruben Perez (The Rock) and Darrel Card (The Rock)
SOUTH
Shamyra Reid MH, Dunnellon
Samantha Bernstein L/DS, Dunnellon
Annalise DeLaberrera L, Forest (Ocala)
Avery O’Cull MB, Forest (Ocala)
Kyra Rigozzi OH, Lake Weir (Ocala)
Camryn Petersen OH/MB, North Marion (Citra)
Almarelis Malave OH, West Port (Ocala)
Abbey McClinton S, West Port (Ocala)
Coaches – Mike Rasdall (West Port) and Edmary Basco (West Port)