Efficient St. Thomas makes quick work of West Boca Raton
FORT LAUDERDALE — The first step St. Thomas Aquinas took toward defending its state championship came relatively easily.
The Raiders routed their regional quarterfinal opponent, West Boca Raton 25-4, 25-13, 25-6 in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday.
“I thought we maintained our intensity, which was really important,” St. Thomas coach Lisa Zielinski said. “We kept our unforced errors low. We were really working on keeping our passing numbers high, and we passed the whole match over a 2.0 today, which is great. And our hitting efficiency, I think, was over .400, so I’m really pleased with the numbers the girls had today.”
St. Thomas (21-7), which won its sixth state championship last year, surged past West Boca Raton in the first set, winning it with ease.
The second set was closer, as the Bulls (13-12) stayed relatively close to the Raiders. West Boca trailed 8-6 early in the set and 13-10 later in the second before St. Thomas went on a 12-3 run to take the set.
“It’s postseason, so everybody that’s in this gym has earned the position in the playoffs, so they’re going to push, they’re going to fight,” Zielinski said. “We have to play our volleyball, the volleyball level that we know that we’re capable of doing.”
The Raiders won the third set with ease, cruising to a win.
Senior Mya Bowers led St. Thomas with nine kills, and sophomore Meredith Dixon finished right behind her with eight. Reese Flores had a team-best 19 assists, while Isabella Riquezes led the team with 11 digs.
St. Thomas is a significantly different team than the one that won the Class 8A state title a year ago. Only five players from last year’s team are on the team this year. Ten of the seniors from last year’s team graduated, including Sun Sentinel Broward Class 9A-6A girls volleyball player of the year, Sophia Davis.
The Raiders are also without star sophomore Olivia Mogridge, the Raiders’ season leader in kills. Mogridge will likely miss most or all of the postseason with a knee injury.
Still, Zielinski is confident her team can keep rolling through the playoffs.
“I feel great,” Zielinski said. “I think we’re really starting to click.”