Tuesday night’s volleyball game between The Rock and host Saint Francis Catholic Academy was about more than just volleyball.
The two teams came together to promote breast cancer awareness.
“One of our eighth graders, her mom lost her battle to cancer last week, so it kind of hit home really hard for us,” said The Rock coach Ruben Perez. “We have had a couple of grandparents here that have won that battle, so I love that, and I love when we can support another school and go play another school and just enjoy the game and enjoy the camaraderie. Many of these girls play together, so it makes it special, and supporting a cause is incredible for us.”
The host Wolves traded in their blue and gray to wear pink.
“It’s very important, very special,” said first-year Saint Francis Catholic Academy coach Breona Fung. “It’s a very personal night for a lot of parents in our gym, as well as girls, and I think it’s good to just bring awareness. Signs of cancer, breast cancer, any type of cancer, aren’t always obvious, and I think it’s a really good way to show young ladies, ‘hey, here are the warning signs, here’s how to advocate for yourself,’ but also just showing our support to the women who have fought through this, who have survived or who we’ve lost. I think it’s just really meaningful and really personal, and we’re always happy to contribute to a good cause.”
Fung was also pleased with the way her team battled in a 25-13, 25-18, 25-11 loss.
“Really proud of how hard they fought, a lot of scrappy plays,” she said. “We’re just fixing things on our side of the net and just listening when we say, ‘hey, this isn’t working. We need to change this. I think fixing that would be better for us,’ and seeing a team who runs a faster offense was difficult for us, because I don’t think we’ve seen that this season so far, but it was good for us to see moving forward for the rest of the season, and obviously for districts too.”
The Lions (17-6) took their largest lead in the opening set, 20-9, on a kill by Santa Fe (Alachua) transfer Alexis Rhoden (11 kills, 2 aces). The senior added another for a 24-12 advantage to finish with five kills in the first game.
“All season long, she has been an incredible addition to this team,” Perez said. “I can’t give her enough credit for what she has brought, going from three rotations to sometimes six, so it’s incredible. She’s definitely done an amazing job and accepted that role.”
P.K. Yonge transfer Holdyn Moore added a kill for a 25-13 win. The eighth grader finished the night with seven kills and three aces.
In the second set, senior Gianna Morali (4 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs) gave the Wolves a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of kills and added another for a 3-1 advantage.
“We’re so lucky to have her. I could praise her for probably like 30 minutes, but genuinely just a great player, great team leader,” Fung said. “She has wonderful court awareness, and I think she does a really good job talking to her teammates…it’s just really nice to have a leader on the court who’s one, doing what she says, but also helping her team out and being uplifting and positive.”
She added a back-line kill to tie it at 6-apiece, but the Lions (7-3) went on a 10-0 run.
Senior Ari Howard’s kill, one of 10 on the night, gave The Rock a 7-6 lead, and after the Wolves got within four at 20-16, she finished strong with three consecutive kills for a 23-18 advantage.
“This is her first year that it’s actually in her hands to really be that player that we can go to,” Perez said. “She’s always been, and I hate to say the words, been in the shadow, but she’s definitely out of the shadow now and she is definitely killing it for us.”
Senior Brianna Stevens (8 kills) finished off the set with a kill for a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead.
Although they never, Saint Francis Catholic kept it close in the third set.
Senior middle blocker Hailey Schoster (4 kills, 1 ace) got the Wolves within two at 11-9, but that’s as close as they would come the rest of the match.
Howard helped spark another run with a kill as The Rock ended the game on a 7-0 run for a 25-11 win.
“To their credit, they never gave up,” Perez said. “I love the scrappiness in the team…really good potential, so I’m excited to see that for them.”
The Rock, which has won five of its last six, will play at Oak Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Senior Gabrielle Rosado (2 kills) had a team-high five assists and nine digs for Saint Francis Catholic Academy, which will travel to Williston at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
