Westminster Christian girls fall in championship game
FORT MYERS
One year after coming within one point of a state title in a heartbreaking five-set loss to Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, the Westminster Christian Warriors girls’ volleyball team battled its way to the brink of a state title that had eluded them in 2019.
They brought a perfect 22-0 record, No. 19 national ranking (Max Preps) and No. 3 state ranking into Saturday afternoon’s 3A state title match against Ocala Trinity Catholic.
But after less than two hours, Warriors players stood in stunned silence after falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
It marked the second state title in three years for the Celtics (18-6) and kept Westminster from winning the program’s third state title and first since 2016.
“We’re all mad right now,” said Westminster coach Julie Doan. “We all hold ourselves to a very high standard here and expect to win every match whether it’s the first one of the year or the state championship.”
The veteran team — led by Saskia Hernandez and Sydney Bond (541 combined kills) — was behind 11-5 early and Trinity Catholic held on to win the first set 25-20.
After falling behind early in the second set (6-1), Westminster, led by Hernandez, finally caught its stride and went on a 12-5 run to go up 13-11. After the Celtics went on a 10-5 run to go up 21-18, the Warriors put together a 5-0 run of their own to go up 23-21 and appeared poised to take the second set. But Trinity Catholic scored the final four points — including a controversial set point call that went its way.
That when Ariana Arteaga appeared to have nailed a perfect kill shot to make it 24-all. But even though Doan and the Westminster bench didn’t agree, she was called for touching the net, giving the point and set to the Celtics for a 2-0 lead.
“We talk to the girls about it all the time,” Doan said. “Sometimes there are things out of your control. Bad calls can happen at times and when you don’t get a call that goes your way, don’t pay attention to it. Maybe it would’ve made a difference, maybe not, I guess we’ll never know.”
The third and what turned out to be the final set of Westminster’s season was equally as frustrating. The set was close throughout until Westminster went on a mini-run late to go up 22-19 and was poised to at least force another set.
But, as they had all match long, the Celtics made some remarkable saves, extending points and frustrating the Warriors, going on a 6-1 run to close out the match and capture their second state title, the first coming two years ago.