Posted on Wed, May. 07, 2008

Southwest tops Killian in boys' volleyball

The names may change from season to season, but Southwest remains a regular at the state boys' volleyball tournament.

The Eagles rallied from an early deficit to beat Kendall-area rival Killian, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18 in a state play-in match Tuesday night at the Southwest gym.

Southwest advances to the state tournament for the fourth time in the six years since the sport became state-sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association -- more than any other Miami-Dade County team.

The Eagles will play Jupiter in a state quarterfinal match at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Parkland Douglas High.

Southwest and Columbus are the two teams that advanced to state for Dade. The Explorers beat Hialeah in a play-in game Tuesday. Columbus will play Orlando Olympia at 2 p.m. Friday in another state quarterfinal.

For the second consecutive match, Southwest came back after losing the first set. In last week's District 15 championship, the Eagles (24-2) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Sunset.

Senior outside hitter Jonathan Roldan led the Eagles with 20 kills, seven digs and six blocks. Alex Rivero had 12 kills and four blocks, and Daniel Moreno had five kills and six blocks. Setter Andre Abadin had a match-high 30 assists.

''These guys are starting to put it all together and that's exactly what you need this time of year,'' said Southwest coach Mauricio Diaz, who guided the Eagles to a state championship in 2003. ``We have to figure out a way to execute our game plan from the beginning of a match.''

Killian (20-4) took control of the first game after a 9-9 tie with kills from senior Walter Davis and a pair of aces by Mauricio Palacios. Setter Gabriel Arias-Maduro sealed the game with an ace.

But beginning with the second game, Southwest made adjustments to force the ball away from Davis and limit his chances. The Eagles tied the match with the help of solid defense by Ian Montane and Ernesto Fernandez.

Southwest used an 8-0 surge to take control of the third game at 11-3. Killian was able to cut the deficit to 22-16. That's when Roldan converted three kills to give Southwest the third game and a 2-1 lead for the match.

''We seem to start out too late every match,'' Roldan said. ``After the first game, we listened to what coach [Diaz] told us to do and we were able to win.''

Rivero came up with several clutch kills in the fourth game. A pair of Killian errors ended the match as the Eagles players rushed the court to celebrate.

''They are starting to realize that if they play mistake-free volleyball, they can beat anyone,'' Diaz said. ``I don't think they've known until now how good they can be.''

GIBBONS WINS

Every time Cardinal Gibbons scored a point Tuesday, senior Austin Belt looked around, trying to find friend and teammate Nick Williams.

He wasn't there.

Where he was: in a hospital bed at North Broward Medical Center, responsive but not fully conscious -- but still getting play-by-play of his team's state first-round play-in match against Archbishop McCarthy from team manager Keri Fox, who was listening to the action by phone.

And when everything ended?

''He opened his eyes,'' said his mother, Donna Pappas, who watched from the stands, a bouquet of flowers in hand.

``I know he knows.''

What Williams -- a 16-year-old junior star for the Chiefs, who sustained life-threatening injuries in a one-car accident early Sunday morning -- knows: His team is going to state one more time, after the Chiefs (27-1) rallied to beat the Mavericks 24-26, 25-19, 25-19, 25-22.

''We did it for Nick,'' said senior John T. Downs, one of several players forced to fill the void left by the powerful outside hitter. ``That's all that matters.''

Downs continued: ``He was on the court with us the whole game.''

That was thanks in part to Belt, who wore Williams' No. 2 jersey under his own.

But that wasn't the only hint of No. 2 in the Cardinal Gibbons gym. Not even close.

Everything from cards to banners to jerseys and T-shirts bearing his No. 2 flooded the stands, as did shirts bearing the phrase, ``We love Nick.''

And when the game was over, Pappas and a few fans and friends wore T-shirts with Williams' picture on front.

Printed on the back: ``This win is for Nick.''

But it almost wasn't at all.

With Williams noticeably absent, the Mavericks (19-9) quickly took advantage.

They jumped ahead 14-9, then fought off a Chiefs rally to grab the first game.

They even built a 17-14 lead in the second, looking a bit sharper than the seemingly distracted Chiefs. But Cardinal Gibbons grabbed 11 of the last 13 points to avoid going down 0-2, then never relented.

''Relentless'' -- just like the word printed on a card adorning Williams' No. 2.

''With the tragedy,'' Belt said, ``it helped us come together as a team and a family.''

That family will remain close off the court, as Belt -- who describes Williams as a brother -- and some other teammates were preparing to head to the hospital to visit their fallen friend.

But not before they pulled out that almost improbable win.

Just like coach Marcy Meyer told them to.

``I told the boys today, `Take this day, this night, this match, and take every second out of it. Embrace it. It's something you'll remember your whole life. Because not many people get an opportunity to be involved in something this big.'

'It's bigger than them. It's bigger than the game of volleyball. And to be able to step up for your friend [and] teammate like that, that's huge. You may never get an opportunity like that again.' ''