South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Seacrest Country Day rallies past Boca Christian
Boca Raton Christian appeared to have the momentum with a 21-16 lead during the first set at the Class 2A girls volleyball state championship on Saturday. Seacrest Country Day stunned the Blazers with eight straight points and a 9-1 run to win the first set and they seized control to capture its second consecutive state title with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-23 victory at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
Seacrest Country Day (26-4), a traditional power, won its third state championship. The Stingrays reached the state title game for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons.
Boca Raton Christian (25-5) reached its first state final in school history. The Blazers were led by sophomore standout outside hitter Tekoa Barnes, who recorded 22 kills in the loss. She finished the season No.1 in the state with 650 kills.
“We had a goal from the beginning of the season to play at states,” Boca Raton Christian coach Len Visser said. “The experience for them was great and it will allow them to be prepared moving forward. We are a young team and the future is bright. I had a lot of fun coaching them. It was a very special season.”
The Blazers had an 8-1 run to jump out to a 9-4 lead in the first set, but the Stingrays rallied late for the three-point win. Barnes carried the Blazers with 10 kills in the first set.
The Stingrays had a 9-4 advantage in the second set to force the Blazers to call a timeout and pulled away with a dominant performance.
The teams were locked in a 17-17 tie in the third set. The Stingrays responded with four consecutive points. The Blazers trailed 23-21 before Barnes delivered consecutive kills to tie the game. The Stingrays responded back with two straight points to earn the state title.
“[Tekoa] did an amazing job and fought really hard,” Visser said.
“She pushed the girls and they never gave up. They decided to fight and dig deep. We were right there with them in the third set.”
Boca Raton Christian featured a young group with five sophomores, four eighth-graders and two seventh-graders. Mia Azevedo and Natalie Bonachea were the only two seniors on the roster.
Setter Caitlin Crino, an eighthgrader, ranked fourth in the state in assists entering the state final. Sophomore Gabby Irizarry, sophomore Grace Vanzwieten and eighth-grader Bradee Boyd were all key contributors during the playoff run.
“The girls are going to be that much better next season,” Visser said. “It’s a super special team. It’s going to be very competitive on the court.”