Taylor Pagan and Angeles Alderete lead Mater Academy girls’ volleyball to state title
In a season completely disjointed between the COVID-19 restrictions and a team without a home, the Mater Academy girls’ volleyball team found a way to overcome it all.
Competing in their first girls’ volleyball state championship game, the Lions had one final hurdle Saturday night.
Find a way to beat an undefeated Tallahassee Leon team that is the defending state champion and the No. 8 nationally-ranked team in the country (Max Preps).
When Angeles Alderete went up high and drilled a hard kill shot, the Mater bench emptied with joy as it was the game and championship-winning shot.
The Lions captured the 6A title with a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22) win against Leon in the Class 6A state title match at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
With their gym undergoing renovations, the Lions didn’t play a home match all season.
This season, Alderete and teammate Taylor Pagan led the way for the Lions as they combined for 300 kills (Pagan 152, Alderete 148) so it was only appropriate that the two led the way as they combined for 39 of the team’s 58 kills.
“I don’t even know if the moment has hit me yet, I can’t believe what we just did,” said a euphoric Pagan. “We worked so hard and overcame so much along the way, and I really think we deserve this moment. There’s no way we would’ve ever done this without great teammates and great coaches.”
The win marked only the second team state title in the history of the school, matching the baseball team that won the championship in 2014.
“This entire year has been amazing,” said Mater coach Elsa Lopez. “Our motto all season long has been ‘against all odds’ and we managed to put one final great effort together tonight to get this done. We’re honored to bring back another state title to the school and grateful to so many people for helping us along the way including iMater and Pace [where Mater played its home matches]. If we had had to go on the road to play those playoff games, especially St. Thomas, I’m not sure we would be standing here right now.”
After years of having to deal with a road block in the form of St. Thomas Aquinas ending their season in the regional playoffs and then having to watch the Raiders go on to win another state title, the Lions made it over the hump, beating St. Thomas in a five-set marathon in the regional semifinals at Pace.
“Once we got past St. Thomas, we knew we were in a great position to take it all the way and that’s exactly what we did,” Alderete said. “I’m sure it’s going to be quite a celebration at the school next week, and we can’t wait to get back there and celebrate.”
After winning the first set, the Lions (9-2) were in prime position to go up 2-0 when they held a commanding 21-14 lead in the second set. But Leon wasn’t about to go that quietly as they put on fierce rally, going on an 11-2 run to close out a 25-23 win squaring the sets at one apiece.
“That was the moment where we needed to gather ourselves and not let them get the momentum,” Pagan said. “It was important to get off to a good start in that third set and reestablish the momentum and we managed to do that.”
Leading that third set 22-16, Mater almost saw it slip away again as Leon scored four straight points to cut it to 22-20 forcing Lopez to call a timeout. But Pagan and Alderete were up to the task as each recorded big kill shots to close out a 25-20 set victory and 2-1 lead.
It looked like Leon would force a fifth and deciding set when it jumped out to a 13-8 lead. But the Lions were a determined bunch. With Aiko Helper and setter Elaisa Villar also playing big roles, Mater rolled off six straight points and never trailed again.
Perhaps the most exciting thing for Lopez and her team is that, with only one senior on the team (libero Melanie Chiquillo), there’s a good chance they will be back.
Said Lopez: “Hopefully this is only the start of more great things to come. I’m so proud of these girls for the sacrifices they made and hurdles they cleared.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 10:45 PM.