The Gateway Panthers won their first regional volleyball playoff game in school history, taking down Fivay in four sets Wednesday.
Senior Paige Alise, who played on a St. Cloud team that advanced to the regional final as a sophomore, had 19 kills for a team that looked cool and confident -- mostly -- in the 25-20, 24-26, 25-15, 25-19 Class 5A quarterfinal victory.
"I'm proud of this team. We worked hard to get here, and worked hard tonight," Alise said. "It was a good match. We got a little too comfortable at the end of the first set and in the second, but after that I thought we played well."
A Gateway (12-9) lineup that started three sophomores and a freshman played clean, composed volleyball to take a 24-13 lead in the first set before Fivay (9-18) ran off eight straight points to make it uncomfortable. The Panthers would put it away, but lose the nip-and-tuck second set before getting off to a fast start in the third, taking 4-0 and 19-13 leads. Alise and freshman Angelis Figueroa kept the hit parade going to close that set quickly.
The Panthers never trailed in the fourth set that was tied only once (10-10). Sophomore setter Allondra Rivera ran the offensive confidently down the stretch, finding Alise and Figueroa at the net, and serving three points herself. Sophomore Morgan Alexander ended the match with an emphatic ace.
Coach Heidi Lizardi, unaware of the Panther history made Wednesday, said this win was years in the making.
"I've been working with some of these girls since they were 10 years old, we've truly built this thing from scratch," she said. "I proud of what they've done this past week, going on the road (to Auburndale) to win districts, and this."
Gateway, the No. 3 seed in Region 5A-3, moves on to face No. 2 seed Ocala Vanguard on Nov. 3. They'll be the only county team playing, as three other qualifiers fell Wednesday.
Harmony, the District 6A-10 champion, lost to Winter Haven, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 26-24. The Longhorns finish the season 14-10.
“They (Winter Haven) played exactly like we knew they would. They are a scrappy team that will fight for every point. Unfortunately, we made some mental errors at key times in several sets and it cost us a chance to win,” Harmony Coach Travis Foster said.
Harmony appeared to be in charge of the second set, jumping out to a 7-0 and eventually building a 14-6 at one point. But behind the stellar play of Luci Lippelgoos (4 kills, 2 blocks in game) the Blue Devils fought back and eventually took a 22-21 lead. With the score tied 22-22, Lippelgoos would get a kill, a Harmony return would go long, and a kill attempt by the Longhorns would go into the net – as Winter Haven finished on a 3-0 run to take game two, 25-22.
Game three would go back and forth with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage. With game tied at 23-23, Alanys Rodriguez found an open spot on a soft touch over the net and Drea Thompson followed with a deep spike as Harmony took the set, 25-23.
Foster was optimistic following the loss.
“We say goodbye to four seniors and we’re going to miss them. But we have 11 underclassmen coming back and our jayvee and freshman teams also had 22 players,” Foster said. “Obviously I wish we could have made a little deeper run in the post-season because of the seniors, but I am really pleased with the progress we made this year and where we are headed.”
Tohopekaliga and Osceola, the No. 6 and 8 seeds in Region 7A-2, lost on the road. The Kowboys (20-10) fell to Steinbrenner, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19.
"Definitely a rough draw for us. We had some fun rallies and we played tough," OHS Coach Carrie Palmi said.
Tohopekaliga (22-3) made the short ride to Lake Nona and played the Lions, the only team to beat the Tigers this year, tough, including winning the first set. But ultimately the season ended in a 17-25, 25-18, 25-10, 20-25, 18-16 thriller.
"It was a hard loss for our seniors, they were the ones who literally built the foundation of this program four years ago," THS Coach Eric Capestany said. "It was a really great match for the players and the fans. Our fans traveled really well, and we won the first set and quieted their fans. What hurt was we were up 13-10 in the final set, and, credit to Lake Nona, they came back and took it."
Jody Arroyo tallied 14 kills, Paige Patterson notched eight blocks and setter Arianna Warner had 31 assists.
