Geneva wins 2A state title

After two years of watching someone else celebrate a girls volleyball state championship, finally The Geneva School of Winter Park got the chance to experience the joy.

State runners-up two years in a row, the Knights earned their first high school state title in any sport on Thursday, sweeping Jacksonville Harvest Community School, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-22 in the Class 2A final in Fort Myers.

“Third try is the charm,” Geneva coach Hollie Benjumea said.

After rolling to victory in the first two sets without much trouble, the Knights (18-6) found themselves behind for much of the third against Harvest (23-10).

The Knights took their first lead of the set at 14-13 and took the lead for good at 23-22 when Emmalise Dunnavan unleashed a monster spike. When Frances Aguayo’s serve rattled around the waists of the Harvest players for match point, it was clear a title was moments away.

Connelly Renfrow, a junior outside hitter, led the Knights with 10 kills and 12 digs. Dunnavan finished with nine kills and Rylee Thomas had eight. Segarra had 23 of Geneva’s 29 assists. has been key.

“Our defense has been incredible,” Oviedo coach Jen Darty said.

“Obviously, offense is great because you’ve got to be able to score points. (But) I think our defense frustrates every opponent we play. I think defense is a mindset. They refuse to lose, they refuse to get beat.”

Junior Libero/defensive specialist Lilly Gunter consistently digs up hard shots by opponents and dives for out-of-bounds saves. She leads the teams in digs with 548.

Oviedo is attempting to win its first state championship since 2013, when it captured the 7A title. The Lions were runners-up to Boca Raton two years ago and lost a region showdown against eventual state champ West Orange last year.

Oviedo senior outside hitter Rileigh Powers, a UCLA signee and one of six current players who competed on the 2016 squad, said Oviedo learned a lot from falling short the past two years.

“I think this year we’re super prepared,” Powers said. “We’ve worked really hard.”

All four Oviedo seniors signed to play collegiately on Wednesday, including All-America candidate Savannah Vach, a Miami recruit who leads the Lions in kills (402) and ranks second in both assists (497) and digs (333).

Madison Cook, who signed with Nova Southeastern, leads the team in assists (632) and aces (31). Madison Salvatoriello, a Towson recruit, has 54 block-assists.

Junior middle hitter Mikaela Schultz is second in kills (293) and fifth in digs (235).