West Orange too much for P.B. Gardens

JACKSONVILLE — Many players would love to have traded places with Hannah Heide and Maddie Anderson on Saturday night.

It’s not quite where they wanted to be, but the Palm Beach Gardens volleyball players realize chances to compete for a title in the biggest classification are few and far between. So, while enjoying the run to the Class 9A title game, they had the bittersweet feeling of coming up short.

In a match with 26 ties, the Gators fended off two match points before a Winter Garden West Orange block found an empty spot on Palm Beach Gardens’ side of the floor to give the Warriors a 3-0 victory, 25-23, 25-21, 27-25, at UNF Arena.

The Gators (26-2) have the small consolation of losing only to the undefeated Warriors (29-0) and Class 4A runner-up Benjamin.

“We’ve bonded as a team, and we played our hearts out, no matter what the score was,” said Heide, a sophomore who had two blocks and a team-leading 15 assists. “It was a good opportunity to get this far. A lot of teams don’t. So, I’m thankful.”

It was the same for Anderson, a senior Florida State commitment who had a match-high 21 kills to go with seven solo blocks. She originally decided not to play this season but had a change of heart.

Her decision helped trigger a playoff run for Palm Beach Gardens, which made its first postseason appearance of the century last year and, until this season, never had won a playoff match.

“Having the opportunity to come play for a 9A school was overwhelming,” said Anderson, who won a title with coach Joy VanDyke at 2A Lake Worth Christian two seasons ago. “Coming all this way — second place in the state in 9A. That’s really good.”

The near-misses were difficult to handle, including a lost first set in which there were 14 ties as neither team could open a lead bigger than three points. The second set started with a seven-point deficit, only to see the Gators rally to take the lead but falter at the end.

VanDyke, who was an assistant on that Lake Worth Christian title team, felt those lost chances caught up with her team.

“We should have taken that first game, and we didn’t,” VanDyke said. “I think the fear of losing the next was too big in our minds for too long. When we finally decided to finally play our game, it was too late.”

Palm Beach rallied in the final set from a 20-16 deficit to grab a 23-22 lead. An errant serve and a block put the Warriors (29-0) on match point, but twice Anderson kills staved off the finish.

Finally, a block by West Orange fell over the net onto Palm Beach Gardens’ side, touching off a Warriors celebration.