Tohopekaliga High senior Ariana Warner, who led the Tigers to a 22-3 record this season, is the Osceola News Gazette’s (ONG) 2021 Volleyball Player of the Year.
That honors goes along with also being named Player of the Year by county coaches on the Orange Belt Conference All-Volleyball Team.
“Ariana has basically been the heart and soul of our team for the last couple of years,” Tohopekaliga Head Coach Eric Capestany said. “She had started since she has been a 13-year-old freshman and has meant so much to this team.”
Warner finished the season with a team-leading 562 assists and 63 aces. She added 196 digs and had just 19 ball handling errors in 1,572 chances.
“Stats alone seldom determine value,” Capestany added. “What I do know is that in our biggest wins of the year we would not have won without her on the court.”
Tohopekaliga, who went 15-0 this season against county competition to roll to an OBC title, had four players appear the Gazette’s 12-member All-County team. Joining Warner from the Tigers were blocker Paige Patterson and hitters Danna Aguilera and Josibeth Capellan. That trio combined for 457 kills this season.
Gateway’s Paige Alise also made a strong POY case. The senior had 311 kills this season as the Panthers won a district championship and also advanced to the regional semifinals in Class 5A, winning a playoff match for the first time in school history.
“I saw her several times this season and it seems like she absolutely dominated in every game she played in,” veteran St. Cloud Head Coach Ettie Singleton, who coached Alise before she transferred to Gateway, said. “We certainly had no answer in the two matches we played against her and the fact that they won a district title and a game in regionals says a lot.”
Teammate and setter Alandra Rivera, who had 702 assists this season, joins Alise on the All-County team.
Osceola, which finished 20-8 and advanced to regional play, also placed four players on the News Gazette’s All-County team including defending Player of the Year Kaitlyn Taylor, Eimy Negron, Yarlelis Lopez and Ahnika Johnson.
Taylor, a junior, led Osceola with 364 kills. Negron had 462 digs and 83 aces; Lopez and Johnson combined for 395 kills. Three of Osceola’s eight losses came to Tohopekaliga – with two of those matches going five sets.
Rounding out the ONG’s All-County team was Celebration’s Evaisabel Davila-Morales and St. Cloud’s Delia MacDonald. Morales had an impressive .416 hitting percentage and a team-leading 413 kills as the Storm went 12-12 this season. Playing on a relatively young St. Cloud team, MacDonald led the Lady Bulldogs in kills (134) and digs (274); while finishing in a tie for a team lead in service aces (40).
