Late miscues prove too much to overcome for Eagles in title game
There was a point in the fifth set where everything seemed to be going right for the Southwest boys’ volleyball team.
DJ Laz’s “Block Party” was blasting on the speakers. Players were dancing and jumping and hugging.
The Eagles had found their rhythm again and it looked like their third state championship was within their grasp.
And then within a matter of minutes, a few mistakes and one final block by Orlando Freedom’s wall of hitters dashed Southwest’s title hopes in a five-set thriller, 23-25, 19-25, 25-20, 2518, 15-13 on Saturday at Archbishop McCarthy.
The Eagles (26-5) had their 14-match winning streak snapped and lost to Freedom for the second time in as many state tournaments after having lost in a three-set sweep in the 2019 final. No tournament was held last season due to COVID-19.
“We were up two sets and we’ve had this problem in the third this season, but we never, in the fifth set, have we folded,” said Southwest senior Jack Hershman, who led the Eagles with 29 kills. “Their stars aligned twice and they all deserve it. They played well twice against us.
They deserved it.”
Hershman delivered a kill and back-to-back aces to put Southwest ahead 12-11 in the final set after it had fallen behind. But Freedom’s combo of Andre Aguilar (19 kills), Andres Gomez (12 kills) and Matt McIntyre (5 kills) stifled Hershman on a kill attempt. Gomez connected to put Freedom ahead 14-13 and then one final double block at the net set off Freedom’s own celebration.
“In the first two sets we did a great job serving and passing but then we lost that in the third,” Southwest coach Alain Suarez said. “The fifth [set] will always have momentum changes and we made mistakes that you can’t afford in a championship game. They did a great job of blocking today and finished us with a block. They closed on our hitters and that was the difference.”
Alessandro De La O finished with 11 kills and his pinpoint serving helped him record four aces. Erick Pinzon (30 assists) kept Southwest’s attack cohesive early as the Eagles took the first two sets and appeared headed for their first state title since 2008.
But Freedom swung the momentum back in its favor as Aguilar and McIntyre combined for 40 assists of their own.
“It’s what happens,” Hershman said. “You have your good moments and bad. Yes, I’m crying, but it was the experience overall that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Suarez praised Hershman, whose arrival at Southwest as a freshman coincided with the program becoming a regular qualifier for the state tournament again as it had been during the 2000s.
“Jack instilled that leadership he had in a lot of kids coming back next year,” Suarez said.
“We’re going to go to work to get back here.”
BEST FINISH
Southwest made it to the final after defeating South Broward 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 in the semifinals earlier in the day.
Jack Hershman led Southwest with 16 kills while Jonathan Bulnez and Erick Pinzon had 12 and 11 assists respectively, each keeping the Eagles’ attack in rhythm.
This was something South Broward couldn’t match despite Cameron Thorne’s 12 kills and six from Colton Bueter.
“I think the experience of a consistent setter was what we were missing,” South Broward coach Leo Jimenez said. “We worked on it a lot in practice this year, but it takes time to develop.”
The Bulldogs (15-8) took solace in having made it to the semifinals for the first time in school history and the potential for more with a team that loses only three seniors — two of whom are starters.
“The goal was to make history and make it happen,” Jimenez said. “We have four starters coming back. We’ll be back next year.”