The Manatee Hurricanes girls’ volleyball team showed resilient spirit in a four-set match against Jupiter to claim the 8A State Championship.
Manatee High School was severely out-matched in terms of experience, having only one senior and five freshmen, compared to the opposing Jupiter Warriors nine seniors, many of whom played in last season’s State Semifinal match against Winter Park.
The Hurricanes would drop the first set, 14-25, after a furious start by Jupiter. Manatee regrouped and took three straight highly-contested sets, 26-24, 25-23, 28-26.
The Coulter sister’s Haley (18 Kills, 14 Digs, 3 Blocks, 1 ace), Gabby (24 Assists, 6 Kills, 2 Aces, 4 Digs) and Jojo (15 Kills, 7 Digs, 1 Ace) led the charge for the Hurricanes combining for 39 Kills, 25 Digs, 3 Blocks, 5 Aces, and 25 Assists.
This is the first State Volleyball Championship for Manatee and the first Volleyball State Title for a manatee county school since 1986 (Palmetto).