Jenna Keeler, the top player on the court, had 23 kills (seven blocks, two tips) and 11 digs as the Plantation High School girls' varsity volleyball team defeated host South Broward 25-20, 25-19, 25-11 in a District 11-6A semifinal on Tuesday.

With the win, the Colonels reached the district finals on Thursday to face top seeded Hollywood Hills which beat South Plantation in the other semifinal. Each winner also earned a trip to the region quarterfinals.

In the opener on Tuesday, the Colonels started sluggish, and South Broward took advantage. Kasey Keane, Analyssa Laney, Ciera Valentine and Jessica Zeletes guided the Bulldogs to an early lead.

Plantation rebounded and went ahead with Keeler recording eight kills (two blocks, tip) and Ann-lori Pierre totaling eight service points (two aces). Nina Smith added four service points (ace). Keeler's kill ended game one.

Game two was a reversal of sorts with Plantation building an even bigger lead, but the Bulldogs regrouped to make things close. Zeletes had eight service points (ace), and Keane had four service points (three aces). Keeler had eight kills (two blocks, tip), and Tierra Harold added five service points. Desiree Hardy totaled six service points (ace) and two kills (block).

In the third game, Harold had nine service points (two kills), and Adrianna Garcia had two kills and two service points. Keeler had seven kills (three blocks) including the match clincher. Plantation improved to 14-5.

Plantation: Ann-lori Pierre 12 service points (three aces), nine digs, five kills (two blocks); Nina Smith eight assists, six service points (two aces), kill; Tierra Harold 16 service points, 12 digs, three kills (block); Jenna Keeler 23 kills (seven blocks, two tips), 11 digs, two service points; Desiree Hardy nine assists, nine digs, eight service points (ace), two kills (block); Amy Avila two kills, two service points (ace); Adrianna Garcia two kills, two service points.

South Broward: Kasey Keane six kills (block), seven service points (five aces); Deandre Moise two kills (block); Andrea Tovar multiple sets; Analyssa Laney four kills (tip), four service points (two aces); Jessica Zeletes six kills, eight service points (ace); Ciera Valentine four kills (block), five service points (ace).

• In the District 12-6A semifinal, host Cypress Bay defeated Cooper City 25-22, 29-31, 25-10, 25-17. On Wednesday, the Lightning plays top seeded West Broward which easily beat Flanagan 25-13, 25-8, 25-20.

The Bobcats, which went 16-4 in its debut with no seniors last season, look to win their first volleyball district title in year two. Cypress Bay is under a new coach, Mililani Suzuki, who took over for longtime volleyball coach Barry Sikorski. West Broward coach Jill Smitherman was a former assistant to Sikorski.

Tied with Cooper City at 22 in the opener on Tuesday, Cypress Bay freshman middle Rachel Rivera had a tip. Bianca Jensen, the best player on the court, then added a tip, and junior Tina Rodriguez served an ace to seal the win.

The Cowboys battled with senior Meghan Lockwood leading the way. In the second game, Lockwood recorded an ace to give Cooper City a 23-22 lead and a tip to go ahead 24-23. Senior Shelby Nix had a kill for a 25-24 advantage. Cypress Bay's Emily Anderson countered with a kill to even things at 25, and Jenson a kill to tie it at 26.

Taylor Simons put the Cowboys on top 27-26 with a kill, but the Lightning did not quit. Anderson had an ace, and Cypress Bay led, 28-27. Three points later, Lockwood had a service point off Bruno's block for a kill and then Lockwood served an ace to win game two and even the match at one.

Game three, Cypress Bay dominated. Hollie Aleman had three kills (two blocks). Anderson had three kills and Jenson four kills. Rivera added six service points (three aces). The Lightning took game four with Lina Loza clinching the match on a kill.

Cypress Bay: Bianca Jensen 18 kills (two blocks, tip), six service points (two aces); Rachel Rivera three kills (tip), eight service points (four aces); Hollie Aleman 12 kills (three tips, two blocks), eight service points (four aces); Jaime Dolnick one service point; Gabriela Wagener 10 service points (two aces), one kill (tip); Tina Rodriguez five service points (two aces), one kill (tip), multiple assists; Emilia Duque 18 digs, five service points (ace); Stephanie Koontz four service points, kill, 18 assists; Emily Anderson eight kills (block), five service points (three aces); Camila Paris three service points (ace); Lina Loza one kill.

Cooper City: Jessica Bruno 15 kills (four blocks, two tips), four service points; Shelby Nix four kills (tip), four service points (two aces); Heather Lockwood 15 digs, three service points; Tiffani Butler one kill; Kim Briggs an ace; Meghan Lockwood nine kills (three tips), 19 assists, 12 service points (three aces); Lindsay Black eight service points (two aces); Rachel Blaize two kills; Taylor Simons five kills (block), service point; Jessica Griffin one kill.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@