Last season, a young Osceola volleyball team advanced to the regional semifinals and posted 16-7 record. The vast majority of that team returns for the 2021 season, which leads Coach Carrie Palmi to believe the Lady Kowboys can be even better this season.
“Our ultimate goal is a deep playoff run and I believe we can compete with anybody in the state if we can stay consistent and remain healthy,” Palmi, who is entering her 17th year at the Osceola helm, said. “We have a lot of work to do to make sure we can accomplish that goal but are looking forward to the challenge of trying to get there.”
Palmi’s roster includes a slew of talented players, including junior Kaitlyn Taylor, the 2020 Osceola News-Gazette Player of the Year. Taylor led the county with 311 kills last year and had a .364 kill percentage, a .230 hitting percentage and 163 digs.
Three other Osceola players from the News Gazette’s All-County team are also back. Junior libero Eimy Negron led the team with 424 digs. Senior outside hitter Yarlelis Lopez (239 kills, 218 digs) and Ajnika Johnston (145 kills) are also back. Sophomore Alex Liggeri and senior Nadeshly Mojica also return and are expected to be major contributors while adding depth.
“We have an extremely talented team and the players been working very hard during the off season with their club teams,” Palmi said. “They have worked on their strength training and are playing with lot more confidence than they did last year.”
A look some other county teams:
St. Cloud: Lady Bulldogs’ veteran coach Ettie Singleton is facing a rebuilding year after graduating seven seniors off of last year’s 15-3 team. St. Cloud’s normal deep run in the playoffs was cut short in an upset five-set loss to Viera in the district semifinals. Still, St. Cloud has been an impressive 57-16 in the last three years under Singleton.
After losing so much senior leadership, Singleton is facing a rebuilding process. The veteran coach will count on upperclassmen leadership from outside hitter Delia MacDonald (Jr.). defensive specialist Jecenys Martinez (Sr.) and middle blocker Laylani Cayaban (Jr.).
“We have a great group of kids to work with and I am looking to being competitive in both the conference and the district,” Singleton said. “Our end goal is always post season play and I look forward to watching this team improve throughout the season.”
Celebration: Pedro Dávila begins his 10th season as head coach of the Storm. Coming off a 6-9 pandemic-shortened season, he welcomes back several talented players including senior outside hitter Evaisabel Davila-Morales (269 kills), senior outside hitter Paola Fregonezi (143 kills, 33 aces), and junior outside hitter Nichole Poltroniere (48 kills, 39 blocks). Top newcomers include Joharis Castillo (junior hitter) and Bruna Mattozinho (junior libero).
“We had a successful off-season with a lot of players have great seasons of club volleyball, culminating with an impressive individual participation at the AAU and USAV Girls National Tournaments,” Dávila said. “We are looking forward to a competitive and successful season and our goal is to reach regional competition.”
Harmony: Fifth-year head coach Travis Foster said he’s “really excited to see our team this year based on the competitive nature he has seen in the pre-season.” Top players returning includes senior Adriana Marrero (libero), junior Wilyamarie Hernandez (setter) and senior outside hitter Alanys Rodriguez.
Top newcomers are junior middle hitters Drea Thompson and Hallie Vickers and senior defensive specialist Lizzie Munns.
“We have a lot of seniors and juniors who have been waiting their turn to be leaders,” Foster added. “We have seen a lot of improvement from this group in the off-season, but at the end of the day it’s in the girls’ hands. We are looking forward to see where that takes the program.”
Tohopekaliga: COVID-19 shortened Tohopekaliga’s season to just nine matches last season. Fourth-year head coach Eric Capestany has several veterans returning from last season, including senior middle hitters Paige Patterson (57 kills), Josibeth Capellan (78) and three-time All-OBC selection Arianna Warner (setter, 205 assists).
Top newcomers for the Tigers include sophomore outside hitter Danna Aguilera Lozano, who Capestany describes as a dynamic player that can hit from anywhere on the court.
“She has excellent court vision and is always looking to place the perfect shot.”
Overall, Capestany said he hopes to start building Tohopekaliga “as a top team in the county capable of competing for district and conference titles.”
Gateway: Head coach Heidi Lizardi hopes to see her Gateway team rebound from a 3-6 season where the Panthers were limited to just nine games due to the pandemic and resulting tracing issues. Both Poinciana and Liberty, which went 5-11 and 2-7 a year ago, are expecting improvement in 2021.
