South Broward and Southwest set to clash for berth in state volleyball final

South Broward’s boys’ volleyball team wanted to “make a change.”

After five prior trips to the state tournament ended quickly on the first day, the Bulldogs changed the tune on Friday with a gutsy 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-23 victory over Miami High in the quarterfinal round at Archbishop McCarthy.

South Broward (15-7) advanced to the semifinals for the first time in school history and will take on two-time state champion Southwest (25-4) on Saturday at noon. The winner of that match will then take on either Royal Palm Beach or Orlando Freedom in the final at 4 p.m.

“We felt like it was time to make a change for this school, and we told them they could be the roster that makes it happen,” South Broward coach Leo Jimenez said.

South Broward junior outside hitter Cameron Thorne paced the Bulldogs with 18 kills.

Probably the only thing that went wrong for Thorne was accidentally getting hit in the eye by a teammate after celebrating his kill.

Sophomore Dagoney Stoudt closed out the match with a block after Miami High (26-3) rallied from a 2-0 deficit and nearly forced a decisive fifth set. Colton Bueter and Jonathan Hurst each had 11 kills for South Broward.

“We just fought to the last point every set,” Thorne said. “We could have done better, but we’re going to the final four now. It’s taken a lot of hard work from my teammates and coaches.”

Miami High, which advanced to state for the first time since 2004 and for only the second time ever, was led by Denzel Madrigal’s 13 kills. Gabriel Cabanzon had 30 assists and 11 digs.

“This was a great start for us having not been here since 2004 and most of our kids have only really been playing for over a year,” Miami High coach Rafael Cabanzon said. “We gave it a good run and we can’t wait for next year.”

Southwest, a runner-up in 2019 the last time the state tournament was held, is chasing its third state title and shook off a Forest comeback to win 25-18, 25-16, 19-25, 24-26, 15-9. Jack Hershman and Alessandro De La O led Southwest’s balanced attack, which limited the damage caused by Forest’s star senior Klistan Lawrence, a Long Beach State signee and Team USA player.

Hershman’s pinpoint serving and attacks propelled Southwest in the decisive set as his three consecutive points started a 12-6 run to clinch the match.

“Our mindset was to keep on pushing and try to keep it away from [Lawrence] and as soon as we did that everything came together,” Hershman said. “It was an unreal experience.”

▪ State quarterfinal: Orlando Freedom d. Cardinal Gibbons, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20: Armed with a talented group of juniors and underclassmen, the Chiefs (19-7) were hoping to make it two state titles in four years.

But reigning state champion Orlando Freedom (28-2) had other plans as its frontline of Matt McIntyre and Andre Aguilar maintained a constant attack at the net to send Gibbons home early.

The Chiefs were led by sophomore Thiago Zamprogno (11 kills) while Caden Day, JC Minor and Logan Koevathy each had nine kills.

Keovathy also had 10 digs and Gino Briglio had 24 assists, but even after a rally to force a fourth set, Freedom took advantage of Gibbons serving and passing errors to clinch the match.

Freedom finished with a 114-68 advantage on attacks at the net.

“When it comes down to it, it comes down to serving and passing and that last game we didn’t pass very well,” Gibbons coach Mike Zarate said. “They’re very good though and it’s anyone’s game.”

Gibbons, which loses only two seniors, is confident in his team’s future with Zamprogno leading the way.

The 6-6 middle hitter is already on the radar of multiple Division-I college programs.

“I think Thiago is one of the top sophomores in the country and when he gets set he’s tough to stop,” Zarate said.

This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 11:40 PM.