Winter Park has won four girls volleyball state championships and went 33-0, 28-0 and 32-0 against Florida teams in its 2004-06 title seasons.
Lake Highland Prep has claimed six state titles and makes its 16th final four appearance when it joins the Wildcats at next week’s FHSAA state tournament.
Bishop Moore, also a six-time state champ, advances to a state semifinal for the 15th time.
Two-time state champ Orangewood Christian takes its 10th final four trip and third in a row.
That makes it four Orlando area teams heading to Winter Haven for the FHSAA state tournament, which tips off Monday and runs through Nov. 10 at Polk State College.
Like college basketball blue bloods, all four programs have acclaimed coaches and a history of sustained excellence. The four most accomplished volleyball programs in area history tipped the season off together as participants in a four-team preseason tournament.
Now, they’re all aiming to be the first to bring home a state championship trophy since Lyman won it all in 2020.
Stephanie Gibson is in her 24th season at Winter Park and her 35th year as a head coach. With a career record of 842-236 she ranks fourth on the state all-time list for wins and shows no signs of slowing down.
“Realistically, 10 more years might be a reasonable goal,” Gibson said with a chuckle last season.
This year’s tall and talented team is the first to reach the state tourney since Winter Park’s 2013 championship. It took some doing in rugged Class 7A.
The Wildcats (28-2) are on a 21-match winning streak but found themselves on the brink of elimination when they lost their first two region final sets against district rival Timber Creek on Wednesday night.
Winter Park rallied behind the play of 6-foot-3 junior outside hitter Fallon Stewart, 6-4 freshman middle hitter Isabel Incinelli, sophomore outside hitter Amelia Mancino and scrappy defense to pull out a 20-25, 26-28, 24-15, 25-22, 15-9 victory. Junior setter Tyler Peluso delivered 47 assists.
It was just as difficult to repel the Wolves in a district final win that went 25-17, 28-30, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11 on Oct. 19.
“Playing Timber Creek, we knew it was going to be tough,” Gibson’s said after Wednesday’s home court win. “Their defense was just ridiculous. They served us so tough. But our girls found a way. It’s what we’ve done all year.”
Winter Park is the second seed behind Tampa Plant (22-3) and will face Jupiter (25-3) in a Nov. 10 afternoon semifinal.
Diane Langmo is in her 33rd year as Orangewood’s head coach and has three daughters, sophomore Jenny and ninth grade fraternal twins Kaleigh and Kennedy, on a 22-8 team that plays two-time defending state champ Seacrest Country Day of Naples in a 4 p.m. Monday semifinal.
Langmo’s 726-270 career record places her with Gibson as one of Florida’s all-time wins leaders. And she too plans to coach for awhile with her own girls in play.
The Rams lost state semifinals the past two years with youthful squads. They’re still young aside from senior outside hitter Marisa Forness, who has 255 kills.
Kaleigh Langmo leads the Rams in kills (285), digs (282) and ace serves (50).
Sydney Recca, a junior, leads in blocks (55). Junior Robyn Stephens has 508 assists and freshman Avery Herman has 431.
Lake Highland, Orangewood advance to FHSAA volleyball state tournament
Fifth-year Lake Highland coach Katie Gallagher starred for the Highlanders on three consecutive state title teams (2004-06) and played collegiately for Miami, graduating as the Hurricanes’ all-time assist leader.
She has led LHP to four final four berths in four of her five years in charge — starting with a 27-2 state title team in 2019.
Kiersten Bevelle led Lake Highland with 18 kills and Natalie Harris added 16 in Tuesday’s region victory vs. King’s Academy of West Palm Beach. Gallagher said after the win that her team was dealing with sickness.
“To be able to come in tonight and fight through it has been amazing,” she said. “A game like that shows how tough we are.”
Bishop Moore coach Tanya Jarvis Starrett was a standout player on the Hornets’ 1999 and 2000 teams and is in UCF’s Ring of Honor as a four-year starter for the Knights (2001-04). She has a 350-91 coaching record across 15 seasons, including a run of four state championships in a span of five years (2012-16) and state runner-up finishes in ’11 and ’17. She handed the interim head coaching role to assistant Brian Reim while taking maternity leave for her second child last year.
Starrett is back in charge of a team that knocked out two-time defending champ Alachua Santa Fe in a 4A region final on Wednesday.
Seniors Leah McDonald and Emily Schellenberg each had 12 kills in that 3-0 victory. Schellenberg, junior Anika Groom and senior Sophia Iglesias each had 16 digs.
“We’re so excited. It was our goal to make the final four so we have about a week now to practice so that’ll be great,” Starrett said.
Volleyball region finals: Winter Park, Bishop Moore win state tourney berths
Here is the state tourney schedule in classifications involving the area teams.
Admission is $14 by advance online purchase (GoFan.co fhsaa) and $17 at the gate.
FHSAA state tournament
CLASS 2A
Monday semifinals
No. 2 seed Seacrest Country Day (27-3) vs. No. 3 Orangewood Christian (22-8), 4 p.m.
No. 1 Boca Raton Christian (26-3) vs. No. 4 Oak Hall (25-4), 7 p.m.
Tuesday
Championship match, 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
Tuesday semifinals
No. 2 Miami Westminster (23-8) vs. No. 3 Jacksonville Trinity Christian (25-3), 10 a.m.
No. 1 seed Carrollwood Day (29-2) vs. No. 4 Lake Highland Prep (23-7), 1 p.m.
Thursday
Championship match, 4 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Nov. 10 semifinals
No. 3 seed Bishop Moore (22-8) vs. No. 2 Bishop Kenny (23-7), 10 a.m.
No. 1 Gulliver Prep (27-3) vs. No. 4 Academy of the Holy Names (18-11), 1 p.m.
Nov. 11
Championship match, 3 p.m.
CLASS 7A
Nov. 10 semifinals
No. 2 seed Winter Park (28-2) vs. No. 3 Jupiter (25-3), 4 p.m.
No. 1 Tampa Plant (22-3)vs. No. 4 Doral Academy (23-7), 7 p.m.
Nov. 11
Championship match, 6 p.m.
Jeff Gardenour, Nate Marrero and Chris Martucci contributed to this report. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
