When you think of Miramar High School athletics, football quickly comes to mind and then basketball and wrestling, but not volleyball -- until now.

Coach April Thomas' young Patriots' girls' varsity volleyball team beat Hallandale on Monday, making it unbeaten at 5-0 this season.

``Volleyball at Miramar has never really been taken seriously,'' said Thomas, the team's second-year coach. ``Now we have them working in the summer; the girls are putting the time in to get better. We feel pretty good with how we're doing.''

After going winless two years ago, Thomas took over the program last season, and the Patriots won five matches. The Patriots should exceed 2008's win total.

Thomas noted senior outside hitter and defensive specialist Chelsey Walsh, a four-year starter with a stellar serve who leads the eye-opening team.

Junior setter/hitter Alessandra Cabrera, a club volleyball player, is a solid addition, along with sophomore hitters Breanna Chevolleau and Ashley Jocelyn.

Thomas not only credits the work by her players but also the efforts of her coaching staff. Tameeka Bell, a Miami Northwestern grad, and Andre Gonzalez, a Miramar High alum, help Thomas with the girls' and boys' volleyball programs.

• Miramar d. Hallandale 25-11, 25-22, 27-29, 25-10: Chelsey Walsh, 24 points, 11 aces, 4 kills; Breanna Chevolleau 12 kills, 14 points, six aces; Alessandra Cabrera 7 kills, 8 points, 6 aces.

• Hollywood Hills d. Northeast 25-11, 25-5, 25-5: Beth Schass 16 points, 5 aces, 4 kills & 24 assists. Taylor Miller 16 kills, 3 blocks, & 11 digs. Ashley James 16 points & 8 kills. HH 3-2.

• Plantation d. Boyd Anderson 25-10, 25-13, 25-10: Jenna Keeler 16 kills, 17 points, & 5 digs. Kaylor Floyd 3 kills, 16 points, & 5 digs. Amy Avila 2 kills, 3 points, 3 digs, & 8 assists. PLA 4-2.

• Piper d. Dillard 25-19, 15-25, 25-14, 25-15: For Dillard Janine Alexander 22 points, 4 aces.

AQUINAS-BYRNES MOVED

Anticipating a monster crowd for its Oct. 2 showdown with Byrnes High School (Duncan, S.C.), St. Thomas Aquinas has moved the game to Lockhart Stadium.

Barring an upset along the way, the game -- which will appear on ESPNU -- will pit the top two teams in the nation. St. Thomas (2-0) is ranked first and Byrnes (3-0) second in the latest ESPN RISE poll.

The prospect of an in-season national championship game is expected to bring in far more than the few thousand that St. Thomas' Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium holds. Lockhart Stadium, home to FAU, seats nearly 20,000.

The game, set for 8 p.m. will be the second half of a double-header at Lockhart. Deerfield Beach will face Kissimmee St. Cloud at 4.

Byrnes has already proved that its No. 2 ranking is not hype. The defending 4A South Carolina state champion hammered Myrtle Beach, the 2008 3A champion, 65-14, on Sept. 4.

The Raiders will finish the season without Turner Baty, who competed with Jacob Rudock for the starting quarterback job, but ultimately lost out. After St. Thomas' victory against Upper Arlington in Ohio, Baty transferred to New Canaan (Conn.) High School.

Rudock completed 8 of 15 passes for 109 yards in the Raiders' 46-6 victory over Boyd Anderson on Friday.

``He's played well,'' St. Thomas Aquinas coach George Smith said. ``He's learning as he goes.''

Smith said there was no update on the status of left tackle Brandon Linder, who injured his shoulder in the first half of the Boyd Anderson game and did not return.

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