LHP turns tables on Hornets
Lake Highland Prep’s equated Thursday night’s volleyball victory against Bishop Moore to winning a state title. And the towering 6-foot-2 sophomore certainly played a hand in it.
Gips’ match-winning kill in the third game lifted the Highlanders (13-2) to a sweep of host and defending Class 6A state champ Bishop Moore (8-4), marking the first time in seven seasons that Lake Highland has beaten its arch-rival.
Lake Highland won 25-16, 25-22, 25-20, overcoming three-point deficits in both the second and third games to win it. The Highlanders snapped a two-match losing streak after reeling off 12 wins to open the season.
“We played really well,” said Lake Highland coach “We set our offense, which was huge. We had mental toughness, and in volleyball that’s huge.”
Lake Highland took advantage of Bishop Moore’s error-laden service game and multiple kills and an ace from Gips to win the first game.
The Hornets (8-4) used strong net play from to take a threepoint lead, 9-6, in the second game, but the Highlanders rallied behind
The Hornets took another three-point lead in the third game, but the Highlanders rode strong play from O’Neal, and Gips to rally again and close it out.
“Lake Highland is an awesome team this year,” Bishop Moore coach
said. “There is a reason why they’ve lost only two matches. But I’m proud of how hard our girls fought.”
Lake Highland last beat Bishop Moore in a 2010 district tournament final.
Undefeated West Orange (13-0) swept Bishop Moore in three games on Wednesday night in Winter Garden.
Orange County Public Schools made a district decision to move Week 7 football games up from Friday, Oct. 6, to Thursday, Oct. 5, because all 19 of its schools now have a Monday, Oct. 9, makeup game to play.
But an exception will be Apopka, which will still play a non-district game at Jacksonville Mandarin on that Friday night to avoid a long school night bus ride home.
That means the Blue Darters will have only two days between the Mandarin away game and their Monday Metro Conference showdown game at Dr. Phillips.
St. Cloud’s revamped schedule now has it playing three district games in 11 days. The Bulldogs host Harmony, Sept. 29, and Liberty, Oct. 6, before playing at Lake Nona on Monday, Oct. 9, in a game postponed from last week due to Hurricane Irma.
It’s a rarity when Dr. Phillips administrative dean misses a Panthers football game. He has good reason for being unable to serve as public address announcer for tonight’s game. Magrino, the longtime Tampa Bay Bucs P.A. man, flew out Wednesday for London, where he’ll be P.A. announcer for Sunday’s Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL game.
Winter Park’s girls cross country team, No. 1 in the most recent Florida Athletic Coaches Association 4A rankings, runs Saturday at the Wingfoot Classic in Cartersville, Ga., north of Atlanta.
The Dr. Phillips/Edgewater Showcase girls volleyball tournament brings 12 teams to the Orlando Sports Center today and Saturday.