Pine Crest knocks off Chaminade

FORT LAUDERDALE — Pine Crest refused to go down in the same round that plagued the Panthers each of the previous two seasons.

Rebounding after falling in a tight first set, Pine Crest cruised from then on for a 23-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-14 victory in a Region 4-5A semifinal at home Wednesday night.

Junior opposite Carley Blake registered 22 kills and seven digs while junior outside hitter Arielle Ghiloni had 11 kills and 20 digs.

The Panthers (17-1) advance to regional finals for the first time since 2014 when they were state runner-up in Class 4A. They also effectively sweep the season series from the Lions (18-9) after also winning the district final in straight sets and taking the lone regular season matchup in four.

Pine Crest faces the winner between Miami’s Westminster Christian and Gulliver on Tuesday.

“It feels great because I think the teams in the past had the quality to finish games like this,” Pine Crest coach Albert Sturgeon said. “We’re trying to take it one step at a time, but the goal is to get to states, and once we get there, win it.”

The Panthers broke a 1-1 tie when they wrapped up the third game by finishing on a 13-4 run after the set was tied at 9. Pine Crest bounced back in the second, never trailing in the set after dropping the first.

“I think just finding the shots, relying on each other and trusting each other [was the key], and we got it done,” Blake said.

Chaminade took the first set 25-23 by finishing on a 13-5 run after trailing 18-12. Junior outside hitter Amanda Allende, who finished with 16 kills and 19 digs, had a key kill and block that tied and then gave the Lions the lead late.

“I kept thinking what happened in past years, and I knew what could’ve happened, but I also knew that we were a different team,” Ghiloni said. “When we play for each other, it’s world-changing. No one can stop us.”

The Panthers got over the regional semifinals hump after falling to Calvary Christian in the same round last year and Cardinal Gibbons in 2015.

Junior middle blocker and Rice commit Maddie Fowler had four digs and nine kills, and senior Columbia commit Shari Stenglein added 44 assists, 16 digs and two blocks.

For Chaminade, Danielle Franzosa posted 21 digs.

dfurones@sunsentinel.com / @DavidFurones_