Lake Worth Christian continues to steamroll toward title three-peat

BOYNTON BEACH — The Lake Worth Christian School girls volleyball team is heading back to the state championship as the host Defenders defeated Orangewood Christian

25-20, 25-21, 25-11 in a Class

2A state semifinal on Saturday.

Lake Worth Christian junior middle blocker Abby Toeniskoetter recorded a team-high 15 kills and two blocks while senior outside hitter Kelly Franklin registered 12 kills and six digs in the victory. Senior outside hitter Karly Horn contributed with 15 digs and two kills and sophomore libero Sarah Montero added 11 digs. Sophomore setter Sofia Aguilera had 15 assists and junior setter Luci Marinella had 10 assists. Senior Alexis Jacobs also contributed with four kills.

Lake Worth Christian

(27-4) will play Seacrest Country Day on November

17 at 10 a.m. in Fort Myers with an opportunity to win their third consecutive state title.

“I think it’s really special,” Franklin said. “Our goal is a three-peat. It’s a school history kind of moment. We really worked hard to keep that goal in mind and really play our best to reach that next step.”

Lake Worth Christian has won five state championships in school history, including the back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. They will look to win the state title in three straight seasons for the first time in school history.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment just to be a part of it,” Horn said. “And to make it actually happen would be incredible and not just for the seniors, but for the whole team.”

Lake Worth Christian swept True North Classical Academy, Trinity Christian Academy and Boca Raton Christian during their previous three playoff victories leading up to the state semifinal. Lake Worth Christian has won in straight sets in six consecutive matches.

“This is when you want to peak in the season right now so it’s now or never,” Lake Worth Christian coach Terri Kaiser said. “We have been having some really solid practices.”

Lake Worth Christian jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. Toeniskoetter delivered three kills during the stretch. Orangewood Christian was able to cut the deficit to 11-9 before the Defenders responded with a 3-0 run. The Rams rallied back and trailed 21-19 before the Defenders closed the set strong to hold on by a five-point margin.

“We just really had a lot of energy and to finish at the end, we really pushed hard to keep it going,” Toeniskoetter said.

The Defenders led 12-8 in the second set before the Rams responded with four straight points to tie the score. The Defenders answered back with a

3-0 spurt. The Defenders led 19-17 before going on another run and Toeniskoetter recorded the final point of the set.

“Abby has been coming along,” Kaiser said. “She is a dominant player. She wants it really bad and works really hard.”

The Defenders cruised in the third set and built a 13-5 advantage. The Defenders went on a 5-0 run to pull away.

Orangewood Christian

(21-10) was led by sophomore Marissa Forness, who recorded a team-high 10 kills. Senior Sophie Benson added five kills and three blocks.

“It’s a big game and we have not been this late in the postseason before,” Orangewood Christian coach Diane Langmo said. “We had miscommunication and some poor choices and it was the nerves. They worked hard and it’s a great group of kids. It’s been so much fun to coach them.”

Lake Worth Christian will look to avenge a fiveset loss to Seacrest Country Day from a regular-season meeting back in September.

“We match up very well,” Kaiser said. “If we play with everyone and if we are an all-inclusive team, we can do it. It will be a great match.”