Westminster Christian’s Sylvia Guso is the Miami-Dade Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year
Westminster Christian’s beach volleyball teams were the standard among South Florida squads even before the Florida High School Athletic Association sanctioned the sport three years ago.
And although a state title since that happened has eluded the Warriors, they continued to be one of the state’s top programs this season.
Under the guidance of Westminster alum and former University of Miami indoor volleyball standout Sylvia Guso, the Warriors went 14-3 this year and returned to the state tournament in Tallahassee for the third consecutive season after once again dominating the competition in Miami-Dade County.
As such, Guso is once again the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Guso’s squad, which was seeded 14th among the 16 teams that qualified for the state tournament, faced taller odds than in previous years.
But they advanced to the quarterfinals after beating New Smyrna Beach, the team that denied them a state title in the 2023 final.
“It’s great to win, always,” Guso said after that match. “It felt (especially) good to beat a team we lost to before.”
The Warriors nearly made it to the semifinals before falling 3-2 against Jacksonville Bishop Kenny.
Westminster Christian was led all season by their top three duos: Zoey Matias and Gigi Artiles (the Miami Herald Players of the Year), Alyssa Cadavid and Alex Washington, and Lia Gonzalez and Gianna Romano.
They led the Warriors to 10 consecutive wins before their state quarterfinal defeat.
“It came down to the last game, and we went point for point,” Guso said. “Bishop Kenny is a good team, but we’re proud of our girls and how hard they worked.”
