The Bishop Moore girls volleyball team is a win away from making history.
The Hornets pulled away from Bishop Kenny (23-8) of Jacksonville to win in four sets in a Friday morning FHSAA Class 4A state semifinal at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
The game scores were 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23 as Bishop Moore moved to within one victory of standing alone with an Orlando area record of seven state titles in the sport.
Area No. 1 Winter Park pulled out yet another five-set win in its 7A semifinal victory against Jupiter and will join the Hornets in playing for a state championship on Saturday.
Volleyball powers Winter Park, Lake Highland, Bishop Moore, Orangewood reach FHSAA final four
Bishop Moore (23-8) was spurred on by more than 200 of its students who made the one-hour trip to support the team.
“To have our student body behind us was really like a 12th man,” Hornets coach Tanya Jarvis Starrett said.
Sophia Iglesias, a senior, led the Hornets with 12 kills. Junior outside hitter Leah McDonald had 11. Defensively, junior Anika Groom had 22 digs and Emily Schellenberg had 20. Senior outside hitter Sofia Velt contributed 8 digs.
“Bishop Kenny is an extremely disciplined defensive team,” Starrett said. “We knew we were going to have to work hard to score points, and we executed our game plan.”
Bishop Moore will face No. 1-ranked Miami Gulliver Prep (28-3) in Saturday’s 3 p.m. final.
The Hornets played Gulliver earlier this season in the Swing For A Cure tournament and lost 2-0 in two tightly contested sets in the championship match on Oct. 7.
“That was halfway through the season,” Starrett said. “We didn’t have one of our middles. I think both teams have improved and changed.”
Gulliver defeated Academy of the Holy Names 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 25-21 in its semifinal.
— Nate Marrero
Winter Park prevails
The streak continues.
Winter Park scored its 22nd consecutive volleyball win Friday, holding off resilient Jupiter for a 3-2 win in a Class 7A semifinal.
The victory catapulted the Wildcats (29-3) into the state-final match at 6 p.m. Saturday at Polk State College. They will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal, which matched top-ranked Tampa Plant (22-3) against Doral Academy (23-7) of Miami-Dade.
“They just want to win,” Winter Park coach Stephanie Gibson said of her team. “They think one match at a time.”
Winter Park won its first two sets 25-18 and 24-23, but Jupiter rallied to capture the next two, 24-26 and 22-25, forcing the fifth set.
Winter Park took a 6-2 lead in the fifth set and then stepped on the gas to win 15-4.
“This team has done this so many times this year,” Gibson said. “There have been 13 matches this season that we have been down and had to fight our way back. They find a way.”
Winter Park was led by Fallon Stewart with 23 kills and 19 digs. Amelia Mancino produced 22 kills and 18 digs. Emma Ortiz was clutch with 37 digs and Isabel Incinelli had 13.
Winter Park’s girls have won four state championships — all under the watchful eye of Gibson. The last was 2013.
“It is always fun playing for a state title and that is why we are here,” Gibson said.
— Bill Kemp
Lake Mary leads state golf
Lake Mary put itself in prime position to win a third consecutive FHSAA girls golf Class 3A state championship by shooting a 298 team total on Mission Inn’s Las Solinas course on Friday.
The Rams are 18 shots in front of Niceville (316). St. Cloud (332) and DeLand (334) are third and fourth with 18 holes to go on Saturday.
Ryleigh Knaub shot a 2-under-par 70 for Lake Mary. She trails the individual leader, Dannika Hines of Tampa Steinbrenner, by two shots.
Olympia’s Emma Rynn is third at 71.
In its third straight November trip to the FHSAA golf finals, a senior-laden Dr. Phillips boys squad is in its best position after the first day.
Two years ago, the Panthers played poorly after winning a region title. Last year, Hurricane Nicole shortened the event to one day and DP again fell short.
On Friday, after its second regional title in three years, DP shot 302 and is in the hunt on the El Campeon course. The Panthers trail frontrunner Fleming Island by 10 shots.
“Last year we were doing great and the hurricane happened,” Panthers coach Jerry Updike said. “We played well today, especially Brandon [Lohr] and Taneesh [Sirivolu] scrambled well out there.”
Windermere stands sixth at 313.
Lohr is tied for second individually with a 2-under-par 70. Sirivolu is five strokes back at 73.
Also shooting 73 were Hagerty’s Arth Sinha and Windermere’s Cameron Baez while brother Carson Baez shot 74.
— Steve Gorches
More playoff action
Also Friday, the Class 3A swimming and diving championships were going on in Ocala.
Check back for results from those events.
Winter Park volleyball girls want to match big brothers’ state championship
Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
