Posted on Sun, May. 11, 2008

Six years of Southwest boys' volleyball tradition reunited Saturday afternoon at the Douglas High School gym, fittingly nicknamed the 'Eagles' Nest.''

For more than two hours, numerous former Southwest players sweated every furious point of this year's team's five-game state championship match against Orlando Olympia.

Senior outside hitter Carlos Lopez gave them all permission to let out their emotions when he sealed a 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 15-12 victory with the game-winning spike that gave Southwest its second state boys' volleyball championship in six seasons.

Exhausted after winning that and a 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 match against Lake Mary in the semifinals earlier in the day, the players and coach Mauricio Diaz cried tears of joy.

''This win validates what we've tried to do for six years,'' said Diaz, the Eagles' coach for the past nine years. ``And that's not only building a winning team for one year, but making it one big family of players that can be there for each other season after season.''

FAMILY MATTERS

Diaz held his 6-year-old daughter, Aryanah, in his arms during the medal ceremony and let her wear the gold medal meant for him.

''A lot of times, I've thought to myself that maybe this should be my last year, and it's too much work,'' said Diaz, who also has a 1-year-old son, Juan Marco.

``A day like this proves that it's all worth it.''

The players shared hugs with their families, friends and several alumni of the school's 2003 state championship team.

`BALD EAGLES'

That squad went undefeated and became known as ''the Bald Eagles'' after starting an annual custom of shaving their heads during the season that has been maintained by this year's team.

Southwest (27-2) is the only Miami-Dade County team in the six years since the sport became sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association to win a state championship.

The Eagles have also advanced to the state tournament four times -- more than any other Dade school.

Along with the school's softball team's state title in 2004, the Eagles have won three state championships in the past six years after going 32 years without one.

''We had to keep up the standards that our teams from before had set,'' junior middle hitter Jonathan Roldan said. ``None of the players on this team had ever won something this big in our lives.''

REBUILDING SEASON

Roldan led an Eagles team that needed to replace five starters from last season. On Saturday, he had a team-high 16 kills and converted the two kills that put Southwest ahead 14-11 in the fifth game to eventually set up Lopez's clincher that bounded off Olympia libero Jason Stewart's hand.

Lopez, who finished with 15 kills of his own, provided the Eagles with a spark at several key points of the match. After dropping the first game of the match, Southwest won the second, and Lopez capped a 12-4 surge that gave the Eagles a 22-14 lead and eventually the third game.

Junior outside hitter Alex Rivero finished with seven kills and three blocks and nearly helped the Eagles finish the match in the fourth. Southwest secured a match point at 24-23 on a block by junior Richard Tamayo.

But a lift violation and kills by Olympia hitters Paul Wise and Ian Karbiener rallied the Titans (26-3) for the 26-24 fourth-game victory.

Lopez and Daniel Moreno keyed Southwest early in the fifth as it took a 7-4 edge. The Eagles maintained at least a two-point edge until clinching the match.

MORENO INSPIRED

Moreno, a 6-3 senior who is completely deaf, became an inspiration to his teammates this year. He finished with nine kills and six blocks Saturday.

Adding to the ''family'' theme, sophomore setter Andre Abadin, whose older sister, Anette, played setter on a couple of state qualifying girls' volleyball teams at Southwest, finished with a match-high 25 assists.

''I have a beautiful wife and two great kids,'' Diaz said. ``Today was really special because I felt like all my adopted kids came back home.''