Mater volleyball reaches state championship game for 1st time
Angeles Alderete’s serve sailed over the net, out of reach for any Fort Myers player to receive it.
Point Mater Academy. Fifth set Mater Academy.
The Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy Charter Lions girls’ volleyball team is heading to the state championship for the first time in school history after defeating Fort Myers 3-2 in a Class 6A state semifinal on Saturday at Monsignor Pace High School. Mater Academy (8-2) was to face Tallahassee Leon (11-0) for the Class 6A title at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fort Myers’ Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
And Mater Academy had its hurdles to overcome this year. In addition to new protocols put in place this season due to COVID-19 and a shortened schedule, the Lions did not have a home gym this year. Lopez said the school gymnasium at Mater Academy is being rebuilt after termites were found in the roof back in March.
“We were known as gym gypsies after having to go to so many places this year to play,” Mater Academy coach Elsa Lopez said.
After dropping their first two matches of the year to Westminster Christian, the Lions have gone 8-0. That includes two wins over St. Thomas Aquinas.
“It’s all about hustle,” said sophomore hitter Taylor Pagan, who has been a dominant onetwo punch on the pins with Alderete all season. The duo combined to record 44 of the Lions’ 63 kills Saturday. “We have to work extra hard just to prove to ourselves that we do belong.”
They showed their grit again Saturday. They rallied after a 25-22 first-set loss to win Sets 2 and 3 25-22 and 25-21, respectively. Physical and mental fatigue got the best of them in Set 4. They allowed Fort Myers to jump out to a 7-1 lead that eventually ballooned into double digits and a 25-14 win for Fort Myers to force a winner-take-all Set 5. Mater Academy jumped up 6-2 in the decisive set and never looked back.
Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 3, Orlando Lake Highland Prep 1: Outside hitter Dylan Andrews recorded 20 kills and Cardinal Gibbons regrouped after a third-set loss to beat Lake Highland Prep 3-1 in a Class 4A state semifinal.
The Chiefs (7-3) advance to face Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in the 4A championship Friday in Fort Myers. Cardinal Gibbons is going for its 21st state title.
To get back to the brink of a championship, the Chiefs first had to go through the reigning 4A champion. Lake Highland (14-5) won its sixth title last year and traveled to Fort Lauderdale with a few serious advantages. Most notably, the Highlanders’ regular season began before Cardinal Gibbons could start preseason conditioning. They played nine more games than the Chiefs.
The Chiefs only played four regular-season games, so coach Kathryn Reeber made sure they were the four hardest she could find. They won only one match in the regular season and got swept three times.
Cardinal Gibbons has rolled since the postseason started. The Chiefs swept through the first three rounds, beat Pine Crest in four in the Region 4-4A semifinal, and then eked out a five-set win against St. Brendan in the Region 4 championship before Saturday’s four-set victory.
— DAVID WILSON
Class 3A state semifinal - Miami Westminster Christian 3, West Palm Beach King’s
Academy 0: The Warriors are heading back to state for a second consecutive season after defeating King’s Academy 25-18, 25-18, 25-18. Westminster Christian, 22-0 on the season, will face Ocala Trinity Catholic in the Class 3A title match at 4 p.m. Saturday. Senior Saskia Hernandez led the way with 18 kills, eight digs and two blocks.
CROSS-COUNTRY
Belen Jesuit won its 18th consecutive regional championship (Region 4-3A) at the South Fork High School campus Saturday. The Wolverines scored 19 points in a field that included six teams and was led by seniors Javier Vento (15:38) and Aiden Villasuso (16:15).