Doral’s Arnaiz and Divine Savior’s Perez are Dade Volleyball Coaches of the Year
Doral Academy and Divine Savior Academy are located roughly three miles from each other in the Doral area.
This season, they were the homes for two of the state’s top programs.
Divine Savior put together one of the more impressive volleyball seasons in recent memory by a Miami-Dade County team.
And Doral Academy enjoyed a long-awaited return to the state final four.
Their coaches - Jorge Perez (Divine Savior) and Julio Arnaiz (Doral Academy) - are this year’s Miami Herald Girls’ Volleyball Coaches of the Year for Miami-Dade County.
Perez earns the honor for Classes 4A-1A after leading the Sharks to their first state final four since 2018 when they last won a state championship.
Divine Savior was dominant throughout the season, storming to a 30-1 record, which included a win over defending state champion Miami Westminster Christian in the Class 2A regional finals. Unfortunately for the Sharks, they were ousted from the tournament in the state semifinals by Tampa Prep.
Divine Savior’s veteran group was led by University of Miami signee and Class 4A-1A Player of the Year Ruth Martinez.
Perez has elevated the level of play in his two seasons as coach since coming over from Miami St. Brendan where he also led that team to a state final four appearance.
Arnaiz is the 7A-5A Coach of the Year after leading the Firebirds through a challenging slate and back to the 7A state semifinals. Doral advanced that far for only the third time in program history and first time since 2021.
Arnaiz led a young squad with several sophomores and juniors, who could be primed to make another run next season led by sophomores and All-Dade first team selections, Marcela Carmona and Amy Smith.
Arnaiz, who won a state championship as a player at Southwest Miami in 2003, has become one of the most successful coaches in Miami-Dade County.
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 9:20 AM.
