In this lose-or-go-home portion of team sports playoffs, there is always concern that a team's current match could be its last.
Osceola's volleyball team had no such worries Wednesday.
The Kowboys (223-4), the No. 1 seed in Region 7A-2, got an outstanding performance from its hitters, setters and specialists, and handled Windermere (10-12), 25-12, 25-13, 25-18. Osceola will now host West Orange in the regional semifinals Saturday. (The match is currently scheduled for 7 p.m., but school officials are working to move it to early afternoon. Stay tuned for details).
Cate Palmi (11 kills), Jordin Southall (10), Brooklyn Sippio (8) and Sophie Spivey (6) combined for 35 kills, setter Andrea Rodriguez dished out 35 assists, and seven players combined for 17 aces in the well-rounded effort.
Osceola got the upper hand early in all three assists and, while not perfect the whole match, played a tactical brand of volleyball that saw Coach Carrie Palmi's team spread the ball effectively and command the attack.
"We hadn't played in nearly a week so I wasn't sure how adrenaline or intensity were going to show, but they both did and I was glad to see it," the coach said. "The first set sets the tone, and what I saw was the composure and focus you want to see in the playoffs."
Delaney Webb closed out the second set their three straight aces, one of the only times any Kowboy had to do anything consecutively in a true team effort.
Cate Palmi, a junior on the brink of the school's career kills record -- she can eclipse it if the Kowboys make a path trek through the playoffs -- said she saw the intensity, and the right kind, in her teammates eyes during warmups.
"I knew we were ready," she said. "This is a team that knows what we can accomplish, and wants it. We were ready and played well tonight."
A win Saturday would find the Kowboys hosting the regional final Wednesday against the winner of Vero Beach and Orlando Olympia.
