For the second straight year, Tampa Prep’s volleyball team has secured a ticket to the regional semifinals.

“When I took over, it had been going through some transitions," head coach Leanna Taylor told Spectrum Sports 360's Katya Guillaume. "And then, so, we've reaped the benefits since of consistency and coaching, and getting a lot of great players here.”

Taylor is in her sixth season at the helm of this volleyball program and is a Tampa Prep alum. She says this year has proven to be a bigger challenge than the previous years.

“In the middle of our season, at the Nike challenge, in which we finished fourth at a national premier tournament, we had four starters out at that tournament," she said.

All four suffered season-ending ACL injuries, forcing the Terps to be creative with their lineups.

“At one point, one lineup was working well," Taylor said. "You know, we lost our starting center, you know, against the Calvary and she’s actually having surgery today, and we got to come back and we got to figure what's next. You know, how do we keep this going?”

“It's been hard, but I think working with each other for so long, it's really motivated us and we're really like playing for each other and it really is has been showing on the court," senior Alexa Peguero added. 

Peguero is one of the starters who had to find another way to make a difference on the team.

“Definitely off the court," she said. "I still have to be loud — I still have to be a role model for the younger ones. I will say at times it's hard to feel like I'm not doing anything.

"I can't really help but they're always telling me, like, 'Your words were really like pushing me,' and that's enough for me.”

She says it is the right motivation as the team fights for a state championship.

Maya Van Heyst is a senior on the court who looks to Peguero, on the sideline, for guidance. 

"We are hungry," Van Heyst said. "I mean, we've been, like, all the way up until regional finals, and to lose at that point, it's just heartbreaking because we've worked so hard to get so far and you just don't go to the end.”

The Terps were shut out in the regional finals last year by Calvary Christian, which ended up taking the state title.

This year, Tampa Prep hopes its depth and chemistry will be the difference.

“When we're in that huddle and we're down we need to make sure that we all know like we're gonna win at the end of the day like we're gonna come back and win," Van Heyst said.

“We're gonna have to play a lot energy, we’re gonna have to limit our errors, be smart volleyball players and then play point for point," Taylor added, noting that it is a formula the Terps hope will end with a state title.

They’ll get home-court advantage Friday night, coming in as the 2 seed facing No. 3 seeded Clearwater Central Catholic. 

Taylor said they always want home-court advantage because of the environment, of course, but they will still need to trust each other, play tough defense, and stay composed. 

The winner of Friday night’s match will face either Calvary Christian or Cardinal Mooney in the regional finals, which is where Tampa Prep lost last year. But Taylor said her players are hungry, and the seniors, especially those who are injured, really want to close out this chapter on a higher note.