Aquinas, Westminster Christian to clash at inaugural state tourney
The longstanding rivalry between St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Gibbons extended to yet another sport in recent years: beach volleyball.
On the sand courts of Pompano Beach Community Park, the two Fort Lauderdale powerhouses for years on the indoor circuit decided who would represent Broward County at this weekend’s inaugural FHSAA state championships in Tallahassee.
And as their teammates chanted “S-T-A” with each of the final dig, set and spike, the duo of Alyssa McBean and Halley Tang scored the final point that clinched Aquinas a 3-2 victory over Cardinal Gibbons and punched its ticket to Tallahassee.
“We were a little bit slow to start, which surprised me … but we got the goal accomplished and pulled through at the end and stuck to our guns and strategy,” said Aquinas coach Dave Palm, who has coached the team for the past three years, first as a club sport and now in the first season in which the FHSAA sanctioned beach volleyball.
While Aquinas (14-2) has been impressive, it is not the overall favorite heading into this weekend’s tournament, which will be held at Florida State University.
That distinction belongs to Miami Westminster Christian, which dispatched Doral Academy in the play-in round 5-0 and heads to the tournament unbeaten at 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state overall by MaxPreps.
The Warriors, who won the state championship last season while still played as a club sport, have dropped only one individual match the entire season and are led by a pair of sibling duos at the top of their rotation.
Emily and Zoey Matias form Westminster’s top duo along with Alyssa and Alyah Cadavid.
Both teams are undefeated so far, which includes
a win over Aquinas, whom it will face on Friday at 2 p.m. in the round of 16.
“Who better to play with than your sister, right?” said Westminster Christian coach and former Miami Herald Athlete of the Year Sylvia Hernandez.
“It’s great to see the connection both have on the court, and they’ve brought an interesting dynamic to the team.”
The Matias sisters are
playing beach volleyball together for the first time this season. But the Cadavid’s are in their fourth season playing as a duo, according to Hernandez, giving the team a combo of talent and experience at the forefront of their lineup.
The three duos of Gaby Arroyo and Lamaya Fuller, Nati Milo and Ariana Arteaga and Paige Anderson and Gigi Artiles also prevailed against Doral and complete Westminster’s
rotation.
The state tournament will consist of 16 teams competing over two days.
The winner of Westminster-Aquinas will advance to the quarterfinal round to face either Vero Beach or Kings Academy at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The semifinals will be played at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the championship match to follow at 3 p.m.
Hernandez said that while her team is confident having won a title on the club scene a year ago, it understands the challenges that await.
“Our approach isn’t going to change,” said Hernandez, who played indoor volleyball at the University of Miami and later played beach volleyball at Loyola Marymount before returning to her high school alma mater to coach in recent years. “We’re going in knowing that we’re going to have to battle for every point and every match.”
Aquinas is led by McBean and Tang, who are their top pair and won the decisive match after they and Gibbons (8-2) had split the first four on side-by-side courts.
After the team of Abby Scalzitti and Alana Webb led off the match with a win, the duo of Zoey Taylor and Sophia Alvarado also won to secure the other wins for the Raiders.
But it would come down to McBean and Tang, who held off a resilient performance by Gibbons’ team of Savanna Miller and Vanessa Centeno 21-18, 21-18.
Courtney Jensen and Amanda Knapik along with Kristi Talicka and Brooke Carrasquel round out the Raiders’ starting teams.
“I think our girls are ready and we had a match against Westminster, so we know what we need to adjust,” Palm said. “The girls, traveling to state, will have that extra fire and the extra pizazz to do everything that needs to be done to win.”