Sophomore Cate Palmi recorded 16 kills and added five aces, and Jordin Southall added 10 kills and three blocks as the Osceola Kowboys captured the 2023 Orange Belt Conference volleyball championship Thursday with a smooth 25-12, 25-21, 25-14 win over Tohopekaliga.
Osceola, 17-5 and ranked seventh in the state in Class 7A, breezed through the week-long tournament without losing a set. The Lady Kowboys opened the tournament with a 25-9, 25-5, 25-5 win over Liberty in Monday’s quarterfinal and a 25-10, 25-10, 25-16 win over Gateway in Tuesday’s semifinal.
Although favored to win OBCs, Osceola coach Carrie Palmi said the tournament final – played at St. Cloud – still meant a lot to her team.
“It was a good crowd tonight and the fans were really into it, which helped our players into it,” Palmi said. “You could tell by our reaction at the end of the match that the OBC championship means a lot to our players.”
Osceola jumped on top early in the match, building a 4-0 lead and then using a 5-2 run to jump out to a 9-2 lead in the first set. A return error, followed by a formation violation by Tohopekaliga pushed the lead to 20-8 as Osceola cruised to a 16-point win. Palmi had seven kills in the set and Sophie Spivey had two kills and a block.
Tohopekaliga, behind the solid play of Donna Aguilera (4 kills in set) and Sophia Bou (5 kills and an ace) played much better in the second set. The Tigers and Lady Kowboys were tied at 9-9, before Palmi’s serves sparked a 5-0 run as Osceola went ahead for good at 14-9.
Trailing 17-11, Toho did manage another rally to cut the deficit to 19-17 but a Palmi kill stopped a 4-0 run and several return errors pushed the Osceola lead to 24-20. Two points later Osceola closed out the game to take a 2-0 lead. “The Tigers have some good players and played well in the second set,” Carrie Palmi added.
Game three was all Osceola from the beginning. With Alex Liggeri serving four straight points to open the set, the Lady Kowboys would eventually open a 9-2 advantage. From there, Toho would never get closer than four points and Palmi would serve out five straight points late in the set as Osceola built a 24-11 lead. Osceola closed the match out on a thunderous kill by Southall.
In addition to the play of Palmi and Southall, Spivey had three kills and a block and freshman Brooklyn Sippio had three kills and two blocks. Tohopekaliga, who came into the match ranked 17th in the state in 7A, was led by Bou (10 kills, block and an ace) and Aguilera (6 kills and an ace). The Lady Tigers fell to 18-4 with the loss.
There is one week left in the regular season and Osceola closes with three matches next week. Osceola will host Edgewater Monday and Southland Christian Thursday at home and will sandwich those games around a road contest against Winter Park (17-2), ranked No. 1 in 7A, Tuesday.
“Winter Park will be a huge test for us,” Carrie Palmi said. “They are ranked number one in our class and second overall in the state. It also a possible future opponent for us in the state tournament, so playing them this late in the season will give us a good idea of where we stand.”
Osceola will take a six-match winning streak into the final week and has not dropped a set since a Sept. 25 five-set loss to No. 4-ranked Hagerty on Sept. 25. Tohopekaliga, which is in the same district as Osceola, will host Gateway next Tuesday before closing its regular season against district foe Lake Nona on the road Thursday.
