A match lacking artistry certainly made up for in drama, grit, excitement and suspense as the Osceola Kowboys (14-3), ranked No. 4 in Class 7A by MaxPreps, came from behind to beat No. 6 Hagerty in five sets, 24-26, 25-19, 26-28, 25-22, 15-9.
The win, Osceola’s seventh in a row, sets up an interesting and busy nine days where the Kowboys will host county rival Tohopekaliga Wednesday, meet solid opponent Holy Trinity Episcopal Sept. 25 on the road, then host No. 2 ranked team in Class 7A (No. 3) Winter Park on the 26th.
“That should be a great game and a great challenge for us,” Osceola coach Carrie Palmi said about Winter Park, a team that made it to the state finals last season. “Year-in and year-out they are one of the top teams in the state, but we also know to be the best you have to play the best so we are looking forward to the opportunity.”
Osceola certainly found some confidence Tuesday night in its come from behind win. After splitting the first two sets, Osceola went on a 7-0 run in Game 5 to turn a 3-2 game into a 10-2 advantage. And although Hagerty used a 5-0 run of its own to cut it to a 10-7 margin, Osceola regained the momentum and held on for the win.
With all three of its season losses coming in best of three invitational tournaments, it was the first time all year that Osceola has been extended to five sets and the first time in three tries they this season the team won a "race to 15" set.
“Those deciding game are so nerve racking,” Palmi said. “Unlike games to 25, you simply can’t afford to get more than a couple of points behind early. I always tell my squad the first team to reach five points usually wins those games.”
Jordin Southall, who led Osceola on the night with 25 kills, played a major role in the fifth set with six kills. She came up six kills in that final set to lead the way to the victory. But there were other heroes in the set. Nailah Stevenson came up with a huge block, Sophia Spivey had a couple of kills and Dari Bravo held serve for six consecutive points.
“No question we struggled a little bit early tonight. We let way too many balls hit the floor and we struggled with our serve,” Palmi said. “But we made some defensive adjustments and also started getting to those balls that we were letting get to the floor earlier. It was a great match and a great win for our team.”
Osceola fell behind early in the first set, but a Kowboys 5-2 run including Southall ace and a Cate Palmi kill allowed them to tie the score 24-24. But Mikayla Miessler would come up with a kill, followed by an Osceola return error that gave the Huskies the first set.
Cate Palmi posted seven kills and an ace in the second set, as Osceola led for most of the way and cruised to the six-point win. But after the Kowboys took an early 6-2 lead in the third, Hagerty came storming back – eventually grabbing a 21-17 lead. Osceola went on a 5-1 run lead to cut the deficit to one and would eventually fight off three match points but Huskies outside hitter Jenness Orcutt finished it off with a kill and a block at the net to give Hagerty the set, 28-26.
The fourth set belonged to Palmi. The two-time county Player of the Year had seven kills and an ace in the set and Osceola took advantage of three consecutive ball handling errors by Hagerty to take a 25-22 win.
In addition to the stellar nights from Southall and Palmi (23 kills), Osceola sophomore middle blocker Brooklyn Sippio also came up big. She came up with several big kills and key blocks that helped spur the Kowboys in wins in sets two and four.
“I can’t really say enough about how well she played tonight,” Carrie Palmi added. “She had 10 kills, some blocks and hit over .300 on the evening. When she plays like that, she takes a lot of pressure off our outside hitters.”
