Lake Highland volleyball again falls in five in final

Lake Highland Prep took Tampa Berkeley Prep to five games but fell short in its bid to win a sixth girls volleyball state title on Thursday.

Berkeley (30-2) prevailed 24-26, 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 15-10 in the Class 5A final at the UNF Arena in Jacksonville. The Highlanders (24-3) could not topple a team that boasted three starters 6-foot-2 or taller.

Lake Highland’s Taylor O’Neal had a match-high 23 kills. Lauren Gips added 11 kills, and Cierra Jenkins had 45 assists in the loss.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” Lake Highland coach Erin Fleming said. “We have a saying about the dash between our win-loss records, that’s the story we have. We had a great season, three losses. Everything in between is what matters.”

Lake Highland has been runnerup three times since it won five straight state championships (2004-08) and all three state final defeats have gone the limit. The Highlanders lost 16-14 in the fifth set vs. Miami Ramson Everglades in a 2013 title match and succumbed in five sets to Miami Westminster Christian last year.

Geneva School (14-12) plays for the 2A girls volleyball title today at 4 p.m. at UNF against Ocala St. John Lutheran (18-3) in a rematch of the 2016 final. St. John swept that match 3-0.

Bishop Moore (23-7) and West Orange (28-0) play for championships in 6A and 9A, respectively, on Saturday.

The Seminole boys soccer team is hoping the ball bounces its way this season after falling short of last year’s state title game.

And with the return of nine starters, the Seminoles have picked up right where they left off to start the 2017 campaign. They opened Monday with a 6-0 win over Lake Brantley and blanked Oviedo 3-0 on Wednesday night.

is back in the Seminole lineup after being named Class 5A state player of the year and Sentinel all-area player of the year last season. He had 22 goals scored and 21 assists as a junior.

Defender and midfielder also return after making the all-area list.

Seminole edged DeLand 2-1 at home in overtime in a region final last season before falling 4-3 to Bradenton Lakewood Ranch in a state semifinal.

For DeLand to continue to keep pace, the Bulldogs will need to fill holes on a team that finished 15-3-2 and returns six starters, including

(17 goals, 6 goalkeeper assists) and

“It has been 35 years since DeLand High School won a boys soccer district title,” said DeLand coach a 1991 graduate and former player. If we can get some pieces to fit right and stay healthy, we should compete well again this season.”

Daytona Beach Seabreeze returns eight starters from its 23-1-2 Class 3A state championship team. Senior forward gives the Sandcrabs the chance to find the back of the net often this season.

Lake Highland’s a 6-foot-8 senior regarded as possibly the area’s most improved boys basketball player, will miss the 2017-18 season due to a knee injury he suffered in a fall scrimmage game. Strates signed with Lipscomb University of Nashville and new LHP coach said that D-I program in Nashville will be surprised at how good Strates is. Oak Ridge grad

has a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls that limits him to 45 days in the NBA this season. But after blowing up the NBA’s G League with 35 points in his pro debut and then a team record 44 in his second game with the Windy City Bulls, Blakeney got the call-up to the big leagues. He scored 16 points in 22 minutes in a 92-79 Bulls loss at Oklahoma State Wednesday.

“Blakeney showed some real signs of a guy who can go out and put the ball in the basket, which obviously we need in a big way right now,” Bulls coach said afterward.