Friday served up the first three games of the FHSAA state volleyball finals as the Sneads Pirates and Lafayette Hornets got things going at the Venue on the campus of UCF. The change of scenery from the Silver Spurs Arena to UCF didn’t faze the Pirates as they came out strong in the opening set and handled the Hornets 25-13 behind the explosive serving of senior setter Ashlyn Roberts. The Pirates continued to cruise in the second and third sets on the dominating play by senior opposite side hitter Madison Pickens who finished the day with a team high 10 kills. It was the third consecutive Class 1A state title for Sneads (25-7) as they knocked off Lafayette (24-3) by the result of 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-12).

The Class 2A final pitted the defending 2A champion St. John Lutheran Saints from Ocala against perennial state contender Lake Worth Christian Defenders from Boyton Beach. The Defenders came out of the gate and were led by freshman outside hitter Madelyne Anderson and aided by the inspiration of their head coach Terri Kaiser to win the first set 25-22. Kaiser was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer, but vowed to not miss practice or games as she underwent  aggressive chemotherapy.  The Saints battled back y on the arms of juniors Kaylee Thomas and Leah Wilcox as the duo put ball after ball down on the deck en route to a 25-22 set victory. But the Defenders were on a mission for their coach in front of a raucous crowd and took the next two sets, 25-22 & 25-20. It was the third state title for Lake Worth Christian (28-4) and Kaiser, their first since 2012. St. John Lutheran finishes the season with a 23-8 record.

The final match of the day featured the nationally ranked P.K. Yonge Blue Wave against a scrappy Palmer Trinity team from Miami. The Blue Wave, ranked fourth on the Maxpreps Xcellent 25, dominated the match from the opening serve. Led by seniors Gabby O’Connell (UNF signee), Jac”cara Walker (Marshall) and Sammy Mueller (Univ. of Tampa), the Blue Wave overpowered the Falcons in all three sets as they won their second straight state title. P.K. Yonge moved down to Class 3A this season after defeating Pine Crest in the 2014 Class 4A Finals. O’Connell (12 kills) wreaked havoc on the outside with Walker (11 kills) while sophomore Amanda Phegley (Penn State commit) ruled the middle with 10 kills and 2 blocks. The Blue Wave finishes the season with a 31-1 record, while the Falcons fall to 18-8.

The volleyball finals will continue on Saturday, starting at 9am when the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs take on the Trinity Catholic Celtics. Catch all the action on BHSN Channel 47 and HD 1147 all day long with Class 5A-8A matches take place at Venue at UCF.

 

Class 4A: 9:00 am- Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) vs. Trinity Catholic (Ocala)

Class 5A: 11:30 am- Bishop Moore vs. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville)

Class 6A: 2:00 pm- Jensen Beach vs. Mitchell (New Port Richey)

Class 7A: 4:30 pm- St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) vs. Plant

Class 8A: 7:00 pm- Jupiter vs. Winter Springs

 

Bold = Denotes local teams in viewing area