Mike Ridaught
Last week, three volleyball teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area advanced to today’s state semifinals at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
Branford, which earned the top overall seed among the four teams in Class 1A, advanced with a 3-1 win against Union County (Lake Butler) in the Class 1A-Region 3 tournament.
The Bucs, who are 24-4 this season, have won 13 in a row.
They will face Newberry this afternoon at 1 p.m. in the 1A state semifinals. The winner will advance to Tuesday’s state championship at 4 p.m. against either No. 2 seed Liberty County (Bristol), the defending state champion, or No. 3 Baker, last year’s state runners-up.
“Anytime you make it to the Final 4, this is a great accomplishment in any sport,” said Newberry coach Hank Rone. “All the summer workouts, Tampa Team Camp, fall camp, stadiums and preparation that goes into becoming a great athlete and becoming a team, is the journey. Forty or so teams all started this in 1A and to be one of the four standing is a phenomenal achievement.”
The Panthers (15-14), who upset Williston in last week’s region final, have been playing with a chip on their shoulder this season.
“What makes it more special is no one gave us a shot this year, Newberry wasn’t the program it used to be is what we heard out there,” Rone said. “I wrote some quotes from other programs and pinned them up so our team would know that no one respected us, and that was the drive we needed to get where we are. We believed in ourselves and we went to work day one. I’m proud to be a Panther and proud of these athletes and what they have accomplished this season.”
Branford and Newberry are very familiar with each other.
“Branford has always been a great program the past several years under Mendy (Sikes),” Rone said. “What makes this a more special game is a lot of Branford and Newberry players also have played or play together on club teams with PSVA Tri County the past couple years. We cheer for each other and we both know each other well.”
In order to advance to the title game, the Panthers will have to beat a Branford team that has swept them twice this year.
“They got the best of us during the season,” Rone said. “They are a very fast athletic team that serves extremely well. We have to block well, be in the right spots on defense and make less errors than them. The two best setters in 1A will be on display and they both do a great job of creating 1 on 1 match ups for their hitters. Against a team as solid as Branford, you have to stay aggressive and smart with your hits. We look forward to Monday playing them again.”
Oak Hall (25-4) advanced to its second 2A state semifinal in three years with a come-from-behind win against Christ’s Church Academy (Jacksonville) in a Class 2A-Region 1 Final.
“I am absolutely ecstatic to take this bunch of young women to experience what being at the state tournament is supposed to be like,” McDonald said. “The last time we made it two years ago we had to travel five hours to South Florida a few weeks after a hurricane passed through just to play in the higher seed’s gym. I told the 2021 team that unfortunately their experience did not reflect how special the state tournament used to be and should be.”
The FHSAA reverted back to the previous format where the final four teams will play at a neutral site.
Last year in Class 1A, Union County and Williston lost in their state semifinal games at Baker and Liberty County, respectively, while Santa Fe (Alachua) won a ‘home’ state semifinal game against Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) en route to its second straight state championship game appearance.
“I am thoroughly grateful to the FHSAA for moving all rounds of the state tournament back to a larger, centrally located, neutral facility that gives all participants the chance to watch other classifications play and leaves all the programs present feeling that they have accomplished something special and worthy of recognition,” McDonald said.
Senior Ave Scorpio, who is second on the team with 248 kills, was limited due to injury last week, but she practiced on Friday and is anticipated to play today.
“She is greatly improved and heading in a positive direction,” McDonald said. “Our trainer, Erin Frey, has done an outstanding job giving her treatment and helping Ave recover.”
Today’s opponent, Boca Raton Christian, is the No. 1 seed and 2A state runners-up, falling to Seacrest Country Day (Naples) in last year’s title game.
“They haven’t dropped a set in the past seven matches and they are led by an exceptionally talented pair of outside hitters,” McDonald said. “Junior Tekoa Barnes is a high leaping, hard hitting force that has almost 450 kills this season. Her partner on the outside is sophomore Dasia Johnson, who has racked up 281 terminal swings this year. They have a solid serve receive and an excellent freshmen setter.”
Despite the tough matchup, McDonald likes his team’s chances.
“With all that being said, I think we have the potential to match up well if we can sustain the level of execution, blocking and defensive intensity that we displayed in the Regional playoffs,” he said. “We are thoroughly looking forward to the challenge.”
Here are some things to know before you go to today’s tournament.