West Broward, St. Thomas volleyball teams roll in regional quarterfinal matches

Hosting a regional volleyball playoff game for the first time in program history, there was a lot of excitement at Hialeah Gardens High School on Wednesday night.

But West Broward, a seasoned team that has gone to six consecutive regional finals, was not the least bit interested in the Gladiators’ excitement and anticipation.

The Bobcats (17-8) made quick work of Gardens, taking barely more than an hour to dispatch the Gladiators (12-7) in straight sets 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-18) to win an 8A regional quarterfinal playoff matchup.

West Broward, which has lost all six of those regional finals, including a five-set heartbreaker a year ago to Southwest, advances to next week’s regional semifinals. The Bobcats will get another shot at district rival Cypress Bay, which defeated Miami Beach in straight sets in its quarterfinal and has already beaten West Broward twice this season.

“This has been a tricky year because I’ve had to make a great deal of lineup changes,” West Broward coach Allie Reddish said. “We lost three starters to injury and a few other players who left the team for personal reasons. So it’s been a lot for these girls to keep playing as well as they have.”

One player who has really stepped up for the Bobcats has been junior outside hitter Hope Passerello, who led the way on Wednesday night with 11 kills and two aces.

“Just a really good job of coming in here tonight and staying focused and playing well,” said Passerello. “Last year was very tough the way things ended but we just have to make sure we keep looking forward and now it’s on to Cypress Bay.”

There was very little drama in the match as Gardens, playing in only its fourth ever regional playoff game and looking for a first-ever win, rarely ever led in any of the three sets.

After falling behind 6-0 to open the night, they battled back to cut West Broward’s lead to 14-13 before the Bobcats went on an 11-3 run to close out the first set and dominated the rest of the way. Sabrina Cabrera led the way with 14 kills and two blocks.

▪ St. Thomas Aquinas d. West Boca 3-0 (25-4, 25-13, 25-6): St. Thomas took another step closer to winning back-to-back state championships.

The Raiders did so by dismantling West Boca in a Class 6A regional quarterfinal match on Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas High. It was the 14th time this season the Raiders have swept their opponent in straight sets.

The Raiders improved to 10-0 against West Boca, dating back to 2007, while outscoring the Bulls 30-1 in sets.

Aquinas (21-7) will host the winner of the Nova-Lourdes Academy quarterfinal on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Despite playing without sophomore middle hitter Olivia Mogridge, who was out with a knee injury, the Raiders got plenty of help from their young roster.

Mya Bowers and Gabriella Schulte combined for 15 kills and six blocks in controlling the net play against the Bulls (13-12).

“We have a young team with only two returning starters and three seniors,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Lisa Zielinski. “I think our schedule has made a real difference for us because we’ve been in a lot difficult matches.”

As well as the Raiders play controlled the play at the net, they also took advantage of earning points with set plays from sophomore setter Reese Flores, who finished with 19 assists.

Dave Brousseau

Boys’ golf

With freshman Andres Atrio leading the way, the Columbus boys’ golf team is headed back to a familiar place — the state tournament.

Needing a third-place finish or higher to qualify, the Explorers traveled to Deer Creek Country Club in Deerfield Beach on Tuesday and battled their way through a tough field that included teams from Palm Beach County, posting a 19-over par score of 307, good enough for third place behind winner Boca Raton (297) and runner-up Spanish River (305).

The Explorers can primarily thank Atrio who went out and shot a 1-over 73 on the difficult track that left him tied for first with Boca Raton’s Carson Parker and Frankie Harris for medalist honors. Atrio was eliminated in the playoff when he bogeyed the first hole. Parker won it when he birdied the second hole.

David Ragan IV (77), Hans Rigvaer (77) and Sebastian Kawas (80) rounded out the Columbus scoring and the Explorers will now head to back to Central Florida for next week’s 3A state tournament on Oct. 29-30 at Mission Inn Resort & Club near Mount Dora.

“It’s always great to qualify for a chance to win a state championship, especially up at Mission Inn which is one of the toughest courses in Florida,” said Columbus coach Mike Marinelli, now in his 10th year running the program. “This is our seventh trip up there in the last 10 years [Columbus’ highest finish was fourth in 2016] and you can never take if for granted because you honestly never know when you will ever get another chance. We have a great young core of players and are excited for another opportunity.”

The top three golfers not already on one of the top three teams also qualified individually and that honor went to David Miller of Western and Harrison Delisle of Miami Beach, who both shot 75. Alejandro Archuleta of Cooper City and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Matthew Marcelino tied for the last spot with a 77 before Archuleta birded the first playoff hole to advance.

GIRLS’ GOLF

▪ Region 4-2A Regional at Grand Palms Golf Club in Pembroke Pines (Par 71): The Plantation American Heritage girls’ golf team won the Class 2A Region 4 tournament with a team score of 308 and now advance to the state tournament along with regional runner-up Archbishop McCarthy (319) and third place Cardinal Gibbons (380).

McCarthy’s Natalia Jimenez was the individual medalist shooting the only under-par round with a 69. Gia Culler-Guerra of Mater Lakes and Heidi Christensen of Pompano Beach both advance to state individually shooting 75 and 77, respectively. Kelly Shanahan, American Heritage, tied for third with McCarthy’s Jennifer Lilly, both shooting 74. Heritage’s Katherine Schaefer and Alessandra Taborae each shot a 75 to tie for fifth place.

BOYS’ BOWLING

▪ Coral Gables d. Palmetto 5-2: CG – Kevin Monjarrez high game (215) and high series 595; PAL – Connor Pipho High game (217) and high series, 550. PAL: 7-4.

▪ Ferguson d. Hialeah Gardens 7-0: Gabriel Perez high game (216) and high series (624); High games: Raul Chavez (225), Luis Marical (204) and Aramis Martinez (184).

▪ Columbus d. Reagan 5-2: COL – Marlon Ruiz high game (247) and high series (593), Giancarlo Perez high game (243) and high series (593); RR – Anthony Diaz high game (238) and high series (573).

▪ TERRA d. Belen 7-0: TER – Alex San Jose high game (226) and high series (623); Alec Osorio (235), Ryan Toffoli (209) Gianfranco Caro (209); BEL – Javier Cantens high game (256) and high series (662), Fernando De lamar (269). TER: 12-0.

▪ Cutler Bay d. Braddock 4-3: CB – Bryan Howard high game (201), Christian Farfan high series (572); BRAD – Bryan Gonzalez high game (264), Alec Garcia high series (605).

GIRLS’ BOWLING

▪ Palmetto d. Coral Gables 5-2: PAL – Ashley Thompson high game (133), Colleen Ryan high series (371); CG – Julianna Goldfarb high game (140) and high series (373) PAL: 6-4.

▪ Ferguson d. Hialeah Gardens 7-0: Megan Morales high game (160) and high series (469); Rebeka Mejia high game (158).

▪ TERRA d. Gulliver Prep. 7-0: TER – Ella Perez 234, 515 series, Gillian Pons 180, 515 series, Claudia Vale 142; GUL – Ajah Mallary 125. TER: 12-0.

▪ Cutler Bay d. Braddock 7-0: CB – Brianna Bogues high game (185) and high series (578): BRAD – Alexa Hernandez high game (222) and high series (590).