It has been 11 years since Gainesville High School’s last final four in volleyball.

A total of 21 years has passed since their last state title in 2004.

One of the players on that state championship team is current head coach Jerica Carter-Mitchell, who played for GHS from 2001-2004.

Today at 4 p.m., Carter-Mitchell is back, along with her two daughters, as the No. 7 state-ranked Hurricanes (20-8) face No. 3 Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale) (27-3) in the FHSAA Class 5A state semifinals.

GHS wept No. 4 seed Legacy (Port St. Lucie), 25-5, 25-20, 25-20 last Wednesday in the FHSAA Class 5A-Region 2 Final.

“I knew we had a good squad going into the season, and we know that last year it didn’t end the way that we wanted to,” said Jerica Carter-Mitchell, who is in her second season as head coach. “Especially the seniors, and even our freshmen that were starting last year, they really felt that, and really, really wanted to get that back this year, and they did.”

Last year, GHS was upset by South Fork (Stuart) in the opening round of the 5A state playoffs. That fueled the fire for this year’s run.

“It definitely burned for the past year, so getting back here, we knew what we had to do,” said Jerica Carter-Mitchell. “Coach Michelle and I were on that state championship team together in 2003, so we both know what it takes.”

Senior Addy Hauptman has been on varsity for four years and can draw on her head coach’s experience, plus assistant coach Michelle Stalbaum, who was the 2003 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Volleyball.

GHS won back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 2003 and 2004 under then-head coach Cindy Boulware.

“Our coach, Coach Carter, and our assistant coach, Coach Michelle, they made it to states, and I think they bring that energy, and they really want us to go because they had that experience,” said Hauptman, who has over 1,000 career receives and digs. “And I think that really helped us and brought up our momentum a lot.”

There are advantages to being the daughter of the head coach.

“I would wake up in the morning and eat breakfast, and my mom would just have (game footage) it on her laptop playing the game, taking notes,” said sophomore Jacey Carter-Mitchell, the younger sister of junior Kenzie Carter-Mitchell. “I would sit next to her, eat my food and watch it…just scouting, a lot of studying their plays and tendencies.”

GHS, which started the year 3-4, has won five in a row. The ‘Canes haven’t dropped a set since a 3-2 win against rival Buchholz on Oct. 2.

“This team has so much talent, and we kind of started off a little iffy at the beginning of the year,” Hauptman said. “I think we just really got ourselves together, and that’s so important to me because me and Rowan (Kage) have been on varsity since freshman year together, and this has been our goal all along, and to finally experience that our senior year is incredible.”

If defense wins championships, the ‘Canes should be well prepared.

“I think she’s a good defensive coach and helps us try out different defenses that work for our team and that will work against other teams with their different offenses,” Hauptman said. “And then we just have a bunch of good hitters front row. We have Jorryn (Dye), Jacey, Jordyn (Barnard), Rowan, Sloane (Childers) and Sofia (Kelly), and all those good people in the front. We just get so many block touches, which really helps our defense, and good at attacking in the front and getting good blocks, so I think, as a coach, she’s really pushed us to get there and get to our spots so we can be successful.”

Kage, who leads the team with 284 kills, and Hauptman are the only two seniors on the team.

“We’ve been talking every practice about getting better, growing as a team,” said Kage, who will sign with the University of West Florida next Wednesday. “Our team chemistry is off the charts this year, like we all just love to be around each other. It’s just so fun to play with them, and I’m so excited that we get to keep going…for me and Addy, this is our last chance. I think that our chemistry is just so strong that they want to win for us just as much as we want to win for them.”

The winner of this afternoon’s match will play either defending state champion Chiles (Tallahassee) or Port Charlotte at 7 p.m. in Saturday’s state championship game.