Panthers win, Kowboys fall in Saturday's regional semifinals
The Gateway Panthers are one win away from the Class 5A state girls volleyball tournament at Polk State College in Bartow.
The Panthers (22-3), the No. 2 seed in Region 5A-2, will host No. 4 Viera (20-9) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Gateway made quick work of Lake Minneola (18-11) in Saturday's regional semifinal, winning 25-19, 25-17, 25-18.
"We had played them earlier in the year and had a gameplan, and the girls just did their jobs," said GHS Coach Heidi Lizardi,
Viera prevented an all-Osceola regional final, that would have replayed the Orange Belt Conference tournament and District 5A-6 finals, as the Hawks defeated No. 1 regional seed Osceola (22-7), in a grueling five-set match (16-25, 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 15-10). The Kowboys were looking for their fourth trip to the Final Four in five years but fell short.
A Gateway team that includes three freshmen (Cristabella Santiago, Sofia Collazo, Anaya Reyes) and two sophomores (Gabriella Herrera, Karina Fabelo) in a rotation with senior Ivana Reyes and junior Galeanna Baralt
"These girls are just playing together as a team," Lizardi said. "It's helping us that everybody is contributing on offense. Even in practice they're focused and disciplined."
This is Gateway's first appearance in a regional final.
"With us being so young I had high expectations ... for next year," the coach said. "I'm completely happy with what this team has already done this year."
