It was a lot closer than the final score indicated, but Osceola’s volleyball team swept past a tall and talented Vero Beach team in straight sets (27-25, 25-19, 25-22) Saturday afternoon in a Class 7A Region 2 semifinal.
Osceola (25-4) can earn its third FHSAA Final Four appearance in the last four years when it hosts second-seeded Jupiter (23-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday night in the region final.
“We didn’t face them this year and we’re still trying to get some game film on them,” Coach Carrie Palmi said of the impending match-up. “From what I understand there no where as big as Vero Beach but they are extremely quick and athletic. We will need to come up with a different game plan against them.”
Although it was a three-game sweep for Osceola Saturday, the match was a lot closer than the final score indicated. In the first set, the teams alternated the first 14 points for a 7-7 tie. The taller Vero Beach team (six players 6’ or better) frustrated the Osceola attack as neither team could pull more than two points ahead for the entire set.
Team captain Ella Gravlee (6-3) was extremely effective with 10 kills in the game, with her last two giving Vero Beach a set point opportunity at 25-24. But Brooklyn Sippio came up with a nifty dink over the Vero line, Sophie Spivey delivered an ace and Jordin Southall blocked Gravlee at the net as Osceola took the first set, 27-25.
“The first set certainly set the tone for us,” Palmi said. “We came back from a set point and made the plays we had to down the stretch. It is so important to closeout close games when you have the chance.”
Game two started the same as game one. A Sippio spike gave Osceola the first three-point at 8-5. Still the Lady Kowboys could not pull ahead until a 6-1 run gave them a 21-14 advantage. Spivey and Sippio keyed the run with two kills each. Spivey’s last of six kills in the game closed out the set.
The third set looked like a possible rout for the Lady Kowboys. Using a pair of 5-0 runs, including one at the start of the game, Osceola built 13-7 lead. The Indians nearly made up the deficit, closing the gap to three, but big plays by Mikalya Matthews and Southall pushed the lead back to four.
Leading 24-19 at match-point, a Cate Palmi spike went just long, Gravlee followed with a kill and Hadleigh Brown made a block at the net to pull the Indians to within two points at 24-22. But the match ended when Southall blocked Gravlee at the net to end the match.
Palmi led the Kowboys with 20 kills and Southall had 15, but it was the play of Spivey (7 kills. 2 blocks) and Sippio (7 kills, 5 blocks) caught the attention of Coach Palmi.
“Without question this was and needed to be a total team effort today. The play of Brooklyn and Sophie – especially in the first two games—gave us a real boost.”
Delaney Webb had 42 assists and nine digs for Osceola, Priscilla Rada added 14 digs.
Osceola will attempt to add to the most successful four-year run in school history in Wednesday’s home regional final. In addition to a third regional championship and third Final Four appearance, this team has compiled a 98-21 record (.824 winning percentage) as the Kowboys continue their pursuit of the school’s first state volleyball championship.
