Winter Park’s girls volleyball team ran into an unstoppable force and saw its 22-match winning streak come to an end in Saturday night’s Class 7A state championship match.
The Wildcats (29-4) were swept 3-0 by Tampa Plant (25-3) at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
The Panthers were ranked No. 1 and Winter Park was No. 2 across all seven classifications in the FHSAA power rankings.
“They played amazing defense,” Winter Park coach Stephanie Gibson said of the Panthers. “Everything we handed them offensively; they handled it defensively. They are just 6-foot across the line. I have to give Plant a lot of credit.”
Plant won the sets 25-19, 25-21, 25-21 at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
“[The game plan] was to get them out of their system. We wanted to serve tough, and we have some pretty good servers, but they just handled everything. We were not able to swing as much down the line as we wanted to,” Gibson said.
Winter Park was led by Fallon Stewart with 13 kills and 10 digs. Isabel Incinelli added 10 kills while Emma Oritz came up with a stunning 26 digs. Amelia Mancino had 16 digs with 3 kills, and Sarah Webb finished with 13 digs and 1 kill.
Winter Park volleyball girls want to match big brothers’ state championship
“Going into this season we really didn’t expect to go this far with such a good record,” Stewart said. “We had a goal in mind, which was to get better every single day at practice. So as the season went on, the goal became more tangible and more real. Once we got into the playoffs, we knew it was do-or-die at this point.”
Stewart signed with Cincinnati and Ortiz signed with Syracuse two days before they won their Friday semifinal.
“I love this team with my whole heart. This team had the most amount of heart of any team I have seen in my life. We went out with love for each other,” Stewart said.
Plant (25-3) was led by Maggie Dostic with 18 kills and 16 digs. Bella Lee had 30 digs, and Kaylee Peper had 12 kills and 3 digs. Lara Matta had 5 kills and 12 digs while Ella Horvick finished with 13 digs.
“Our game plan was to do us. If you focus too much on the other team, you lose your thoughts. So we made sure to do what we do best,” Plant coach McKensie Herold said. “It was just a great ride the whole time. We always talk team first. It was selfless and that’s how we got here.”
Varsity Report: Bishop Moore, Lake Mary, Winter Park close in on state titles in golf, volleyball
Hornets fall to Gulliver
The seventh title will have to wait.
Bishop Moore’s bid for a record-setting girls volleyball state championship fell short against No. 1-ranked Miami Gulliver Prep in Saturday morning’s 4A title match.
Gulliver (29-3) dominated the first game, 25-12, but the Hornets evened the score with a 25-17 second-set win before the Raiders closed out the match 26-24, 25-21.
“For the most part, I believe we executed what we wanted to do,” said Bishop Moore coach Tanya Jarvis Starrett, now in her 16th season with the program. “[Gulliver] had some extremely physical players. [Jackie Taylor] and [Julia Rose Rivera] are very elite on their offense, and their setter [Haley Brenner] does a really good job of getting them the ball.”
Bishop Moore (22-9) has won six state championships; two when Starrett was a player and four more under her leadership as head coach. The Hornets share the Orlando area record with Lake Highland Prep and The First Academy — who also own six title trophies.
Bishop Moore was led by Anika Groom with 17 kills and 12 digs while Emily Schellenberg had 23 digs and 6 kills. Leah McDonald had 8 kills and 3 digs. Sophia Ingelias finished with 7 kills and 11 digs.
“None of us really thought we were out of it,” said Schellenberg, a senior outside hitter and four-year varsity player. “There was never a negative moment. We kept positive, and we would say, ‘Next ball,’ and did our very best.
“Being a Bishop Moore volleyball player is so much more than a win-loss record. I have gotten so many skills and built so many relationships and that is what is important.”
Gulliver was led by Taylor with 26 kills, 6.5 blocks and 4 digs. Brenner came up with 23 digs and 7 kills while Rivera finished with 13 kills.
“[Bishop Moore] is a great team and very well coached,” Gulliver coach Emilio Rodriguez said. “We are going to see them again somehow, somewhere. [Starrett] made a huge adjustment in the second set and we had to change our defensive rotations around just to pick up some of the short stuff.”
Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
