Posted on Fri, Apr. 25, 2008

The Palmetto boys' volleyball team will have something to celebrate on the road to ''Grad Nite'' this weekend.

The Panthers got three impressive victories Thursday, capped by a 25-14, 23-25, 15-10 decision against Sunset to win their first GMAC championship at Pharmed Arena on the campus of Florida International University.

Led by its nine seniors, who will travel to the annual graduation celebration in Orlando on Friday morning, Palmetto won back-to-back three-set matches after a 25-11, 25-10 quarterfinals victory against Miami Springs.

In the semifinals, the Panthers (20-5) defeated perennial power Southwest, 25-27, 26-24, 15-8.

Palmetto's previous best performance at the GMAC tournament was a runner-up finish in 1997.

''This is huge for this program,'' Palmetto coach Kim Latshaw said. 'These guys deserve it. We have a unique team where depth is the key. A lot of teams have one or two `go-to' players. There really isn't a clear superstar on this team.''

Palmetto showed off its depth in the championship match as five players finished with five or more kills. Senior Danny Cope had a team-high 14 kills and 16 assists. Senior outside hitter Daniele Ammendola had nine kills, four aces and three blocks. Sophomore Matias Ulloa and Scott Schuffield each had six blocks, and Michael Arango had 23 assists.

''Our practices have remained intense thanks to our bench players,'' Latshaw said. ``We usually go about 10 players deep in a typical game. Today, we needed it since we had to play three games in a day.''

The Panthers nearly swept the match by getting five consecutive points to tie the second set at 22. The Knights, however, scored three of the final four points, aided by two line violations to tie it.

Palmetto took control of the third early by surging to a 10-4 lead. After Sunset cut the deficit to 13-9, the Panthers put the game away on a block by Schuffield.

Latshaw said the Panthers learned from previous experiences in tournaments this season. Palmetto previously lost in close matches against state power Orlando Bishop Moore and against defending state champion Boca Raton Spanish River at the West Palm Beach Classic.

''Those games taught them little things like how to respond when a team comes back against you,'' Latshaw said. ``They took the example from those losses and used it to clinch the matches in this tournament.''

• Carol City d. Jackson 25-18, 25-16, 26-24: Cyron Parker led the Chiefs (7-9) with 12 points and four kills. Frankie Butler had 11 points and five assists. Sean Bromwell had seven points and four kills.

• GMAC- Hialeah Miami-Lakes d. Hialeah 25-21, 25-18: Angel Dache led the Trojans (15-3) with 13 kills, three blocks and 15 digs. Giovanni Roman added nine kills and 13 assists. Luis Yance had 13 digs.

• Chaminade d. Mater 25-12, 25-17, 25-20: Zack Bailey led the Lions (16-6) with 10 kills, six points, and three aces. Paco Pruett added nine kills, nine points, and two aces. Victor Schaefer had nine points, five aces and five kills.