Boca Raton withstands thriller to reach final
BOCA RATON — Nobody could've imagined a fifth set would be needed at Boca Raton High Saturday in the regional semifinals.
Not after Boca Raton swept easily to the first two sets, 25-12, 25-17. But gritty Ferguson of Miami roared back to take the next two and set up a classic fifth set for the ages.
In fifth sets, the win total becomes 15 points but it looked like it would never end. Boca Raton blew eight match points and saved three, surviving 23-21.
Ironically, the match was decided on a changed call as an umpire overturned a Ferguson ball that initially was called long. Maybe he was late for Saturdaynight date as the match lasted two-anda-half hours.
The exhausted - and relieved - Boca players fell on top of each other in celebration as the Bobcats move on to the regional finals one year after making it to the state final four.
“I think after dropping those two sets, we got together in the huddle and we were like “this is our season, our year”,'' outside hitting star Mija Bendzuite said. “Last year we made it to states. We're not going down like this. We kept fighting.''
The fifth-set triumph saved Boca Raton from an offseason of what-ifs.
“It was definitely super unexpected,'' said libero Catherine Hubiak, who had 20 digs.. “We killed it the first and second set. And I really thought we'd win the third. It was the craziest match I ever played. I'm so happy we won. We worked so hard every day. We deserved that win.''
By the end, the ears of the spectators from both schools who packed the Bobcats gym were ringing and their voices hoarse after witnessing match point after match point go by. Boca Raton couldn't close after having four straight match points at 14-10 as Ferguson tied it at 14-14.
Boca's top killers were the 6-3 Benzuite and her lefty sidekick Natalie Depaula,
who had tears in her eyes still ten minutes after the victory and bearhugged anyone who moved. The soutthpaw smacked four kills in the final 12 points and finished with 28 on the night.
The blonde-haired Benzuite dominated the first two sets and collected 23 kills. In addition, Amara Clark posted 36 assists.
“Tears of happiness,'' Depaula said. “I feel so relieved and so happy for the team. Without these 14 amazing teammates I wouldn't have done it. I just told them to calm down and relax. I was taking breaths too. We knew our season was on the line.''
The final count was 25-12, 25-17, 2225, 22-25, 23-21.
“When you have two great teams battling each other, there's going to be ups and downs and fluctuations,''' coach Dre Sloan said. “For us, it's not about fluctuations It's the ability to recover and rebound from that and stay focused. At the end of the day it was a little bit of luck and composure.''
At 15-15 in the fifth, Ferguson set up their first match point when a kill shot banged off Bendzuite's head and knocked her to the hardwood. The junior star looked dazed getting up as Ferguson celebrated the virtual KO.
“It didn't really hurt,'' Bendzuite said. “I've gotten so many hits to the head.''
But Boca Raton rose up as Bendzuite's partner DePaula slammed two straight kills to set up match point at 17-16.
“I have Nat on the right side who is an amazing player and Mija on the outside,'' Sloan said. “But I have 14 amazing players together that allow us to produce this. A lot of respect for my outside pin hitters but it's a team effort.''
So how did the two-sets-to-none lead disintegrate so quickly? Boca just got tight and the defense for Ferguson, which has won its district three straight years, solidified as the Miami power made some counter adjustment.
Trailing 22-21 in the third set, a frustrated Bendzuite's kill shot was badly mishit into the net and Ferguson soon had a new life.
Depaula, too, had a couple of rare miscues in the fourth set. “We were stressed and spazzy and getting frustrated from our mistakes,'' said the Brazilian Depaula. “But we realized we hadn't been working hard for no reason. We kept pushing. We slowed the game down and relaxed.''
“We all came off with a great mentality and had energy,'' Bendzuite said. “It was a mental game. We got ahead of ourselves a bit and dropped our quality. Then after the fifth set, we were like: “who wants it more?''
The dynamic duo of Bendzuite and Depaula - The Blonde And The Brazilian will move on. That could mean trouble for the rest of Florida volleyball.
“We bring fire to the team,'' Bendzuite said. “But everyone on team we all we have such a love for each other. Nat and I are friends off the court too. Everyone's friends off the court. We showed the passion within ourselves. The group of girls we have is so amazing. We were all so brave today.''