In 2022 the Osceola Kowboys volleyball team reached new heights, capturing a regional tournament championship and advancing to the FHSAA Class 7A state semifinals, where they lost a heart-breaking 5-set match to Hagerty. Along the way, the Kowboys won both district and Orange Belt Conference titles and finished with a 26-5 record.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that Lady Kowboys dominate the Osceola News Gazette’s 2022 All-County Team with five selections, the Player and Coach of Year honors.
Leading the way is freshman Cate Palmi who shares the 2022 Player of the Year honors with junior teammate Alex Liggeri.
Palmi, the daughter of Coach Carrie Palmi, had a dominant rookie campaign – leading the county with 591 kills, along with a .327 hitting percentage, 58 aces and 302 digs. She was named OBC Player of the Year by county coaches. She joins her sister Allison, now a college player at Immaculate Word, as ONG Player of the Year recipients.
Although Palmi’s stats were incredible, we felt Taylor Liggeri deserved recognition – thus the Co-Player of the Year designation. The junior led the state in assists with a school record 1,023. She added 269 digs on the season.
Kaitlyn Taylor, a four-year letter winner, was also considered. She finished just behind Tohopekaliga’s Ariana Warner for 2021 ONG Player of the Year. In her four-year career as a starter, Taylor finishes with 1,205 career kills and 794 career digs in helping Osceola to an 87-25 record over that time. She had 369 kills and 297 digs this season to earn a spot on the All-County team.
Joining those three are OHS freshman Sophie Spivey and senior Eimy Negron. Spivey, playing right outside hitter, had a sensational freshman campaign with 136 kills. Negron is another multi-year starter for the Kowboys and posted 434 digs and had just 23 ball handling errors on more than 340 serves received. Her stats would have been more impressive but she missed several weeks of the season due to injury.
After graduating Warner and several other key players off of last year’s 22-3 team, Tohopekaliga coach Eric Capestany simply reloaded his roster and finished with an impressive 16-8 record. After a 3-4 start, the Tigers won 13 of their last 17. The Tigers went 11-4 against county competition with three losses coming to champion Osceola.
The Tigers place three on the All-County team: juniors Danna Aguilera (248 kills, .286 hitting percentage) and Nyah Moore (383 assists) and senior outside hitter Ileana Rodriguez (179 kills). Those three athletes have played a key role in Tohopekaliga going 38-11 in the last two seasons.
Celebration and St. Cloud each place two; the Storm’s Joharis Castillo and Bruna Manthozinho helped Celebration to a 9-4 mark this year. St. Clouds’ Delia MacDonald (180 kills, 256 digs) and Madison Carlo (453 assists) paced St. Cloud (13-12) to an overall winning record.
Harmony’s Wilyamarie Hernandez (247 assists) and Gateway’s Angelys Figueroa round out the list.
Osceola’s Carrie Palmi is the ONG Coach of the Year. The Lady Kowboys went 8-0 against county opposition, won the OBC Tournament Championship and recorded wins over state powers Oviedo, Lake Nona, and Jupiter. Osceola, which took state finalist Hagerty to five sets in the 7A semifinals, also owned a regular season win over that team.
“Although it did not end the way we wanted it to, we had a tremendous year.” She said. “Individual recognition is nice, but it really takes a team to succeed and we had a team this year.”
Players of the Year — Cate Palmi, Fr., Alex Liggeri, Jr., Osceola
Coach of the Year: Carrie Palmi, Osceola
All-County Team — Osceola: Kaitlyn Taylor, Sr., Eimy Negron, Sr., Sophie Spivey, Fr. Tohopekaliga: Danna Aguilera, Jr., Nyah Moore, Jr., Ileana Rodriguez, Sr. Harmony: Wilyamarie Hernandez, Sr. Celebration: Joharis Castillo, Sr., Bruna Manthozinho, Sr. Gateway: Angelys Figueroa, Soph. St. Cloud: Delia MacDonald, Sr., Madison Carlo, Sr.
