Osceola High once again dominated the county girls’ volleyball scene, in a year that Kowboy Cate Palmi closes out her own dominate career on the court.
The senior, who will enroll at the University of South Florida early later this month to begin her college playing career, had a Central Florida-leading 478 kills, 283 digs and 76 aces that went with an incredible .371 hitting percentage (think batting average in baseball). Those numbers tell why she has earned an unprecedented fourth straight Osceola News-Gazette Girls Volleyball Player of the Year award.
She led Osceola to a 26-5 record and a second straight regional championship and a trip to the Class 7A state championship for the third time in four years.
“It’s a great honor and I really do appreciate it,” Palmi said. “Unfortunately, we fell one game short of our ultimate goal of reaching the state championship game. But I can look back and smile. We won three regional championships in four seasons, something that has never been done before in school history.”
During her time wearing blue and gold, Osceola won four OBC titles, four district championships, three regional crowns and three Final Four appearances while compiling a 99-22 record (26-5 this year), an .818 winning percentage. And while Palmi was a major factor in those accomplishments, she was quick to share the accolades with her teammates.
“I was fortunate to have so many great players as teammates,” she said. “I had not one, but two dominant outside hitters on the right side, which made it so much easier for me on the left side. To me, any individual honors are really team honors.”
Palmi ended her Kowboy career with a total of 2,021 kills, the new Central Florida record, and the only player in Florida to reach the 2,000-mark without counting any pre-freshman years in a K-12 school.
Palmi and her teammates dominated county opposition this year, going 6-0 and winning all 18 sets. Overall, Palmi and her senior teammates went 34-0 and won four OBC championships; while winning 96 of 100 sets against in-county opponents.
Overall all, six Osceola starters earn spots on the ONG All-County team, joined by players from Gateway, St. Cloud, Harmony, Celebration and Tohopekaliga.
Player of the Year: Cate Palmi, Osceola, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Carrie Palmi, Osceola
All-County Team:
Outside Hitters
Jordin Southall, Osceola (330 kills, 290 digs, 51 aces)
Sophie Spivey, Osceola (284 kills, .347 hitting percentage, 71 digs)
Ivana Reyes, Gateway (377 kills)
Tess Rojas, St. Cloud (238 kills)
Middle Blockers
Brooklyn Sippio, Osceola (155 kills, 86 Total blocks)
Leomi Almonte, Harmony (199 kills, 71 digs, 12 aces)
Setters
Delaney Webb, Osceola (1085 assists, 185 digs)
Nora Dunn, Harmony (451 assists, 134 digs, 30 aces)
Libero/Defensive Specialists
Priscilla Rada, Osceola (335 digs, 45 aces)
Valeria Maldonaldo, Celebration (329 digs, 33 aces)
Camila Morales, Tohopekaliga (177 digs, 38 aces)
