Kowgirls take three-set win over Harmony; Tohopekaliga rallies for third place
Being without its second-leading hitter didn’t slow down the Osceola volleyball machine Thursday.
While Harmony – who has only lost to Osceola this year – looked like it could give the Kowboys all they could handle in Thursday’s Orange Belt Conference championship match at Tohopekaliga High School, it was the OHS depth and its top player that shined through over three games.
Much like another three-set victory on Sept. 10, Osceola (17-4) powered to a 25-11, 25-20, 25-18 for its third title in a row. With outside hitter Jordin Southall on the bench nursing an injury, OHS Coach Carrie Palmi juggled her lineup a bit, but it was two-time county Player of the Year Cate Palmi who still made the Kowboys go, who put down 21 kills, a number of them thunderous that caused echoes through the gym, in the win.
“I was proud to see them rally around each other and keep each other in the moment,” Coach Palmi said. “They played smart and I’m pretty happy with what I saw tonight.”
Except for a stretch late in the second set when the Longhorns (11-2) rallied to make it 19-18, Osceola seemed well in hand. OHS turned a 13-10 first set into a 25-11 won behind the hitting of Palmi and serving of Andrea Rodriguez and Dari Bravo, then took a 7-2 lead in the second set.
Harmony, behind the hitting of Kiera Alexander (nine kills) and Samantha Vickers, pulled to within 19-18 before the Kowgirls closed it out. Harmony briefly led 10-9 in the third set as Kinzie James served and blocked them into that lead, but Osceola scored 13 of the next 15 points behind a hit squad that including Sophie Spivey, Mikayla Matthews and Nailah Stevenson to eventually close it out.
“I’m so proud of my team, I had big shoes to fill tonight,” said Spivey, who moved to the outside to help replace Southall Thursday. “Winning our conference is a big accomplishment.”
“It means it’s great to be a Kowboy,” said Sippio, a third-generation Kowboy athlete. “It’s the way it should be.”
For third place Thursday, host Tohopekaliga won a spirited five-set match against Gateway, coming from 13-10 down to win the deciding fifth set 16-14.
The Kowboys will close the regular season next week at The First Academy and Holy Trinity on Monday and Tuesday and will host Spruce Creek on Thursday. Harmony is at Lake Nona and hosts Melbourne and East River Tuesday through Thursday before district tournament action starts.
PHOTO/KATIE WILLIAMS
Osceola’s Mady Mailender goes to the floor to make a dig in Thursday’s OBC championship.
