The Cardinal Gibbons girls’ volleyball team comes up short in the state title game

Despite holding its own in the third and much of the fourth set, the Cardinal Gibbons volleyball team came up short in its quest to win the Chiefs’ 21st state title in program history, losing 27-29, 18-25, 25-17, and 20-25 to Bishop Kenny out of Jacksonville on Sunday.

Down two sets to none, the Chiefs (7-4) fought hard and went on a 21-8 run to capture the third set, which gave Gibbons some life. Although the Chiefs started slow, they made a late play at forcing a fifth set, but were eventually denied that opportunity.

“Obviously, there were a lot of nerves coming into it,” Gibbons coach Kathryn Reeber said. “We’ve only played 10 games this season. It was huge just to get here, but the girls wanted more. They fought through the nerves and proved how much they really wanted it. They fought and fought, but unfortunately it didn’t quite end the way we wanted it to, but I couldn’t be any more prouder of this team and what they were able to accomplish during such a short season.”

For Bishop Kenny, this marks the team’s third state volleyball title in program history, and the win snapped a six-year state title drought in the process. The Crusaders won their first state title in 1999.

“There’s been a lot of teams and a lot of girls [coming through this program],” Bishop Kenny coach Suzanne Winkler said. “This team is very special in that their hearts, their ambition, and their drive truly what made this happen.”

On the day for Cardinal Gibbons, junior Dylan Andrews led the team with 10 kills, followed by freshman Emma O’Keeffe, who had nine. Senior Valeria Lozada had 31 assists in her final game for the Chiefs.

“Yes, this loss sucks, but it really taught us what we need to work on and what we need to do to come back here,” Andrews said. “Obviously, we come from a school that’s used to being here, but it was our first time being here. Seeing it, feeling how this experience is will really help us coming back next year, knowing what to expect and hopefully coming away with a better result.”

Lozada, one of two seniors on this year’s team, was thankful she was able to compete in her final season.

“For my last season, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Lozada said. “We came really far at the beginning of the season, having no connection at all, to coming together, and everyone working together. Even though we only playing a couple of games, we came far and I’m glad we left everything on the court.”

O’Keeffe, one of two freshman on the team, already has her sights set on what she wants to improve on in the offseason.

“For next season, we’re just going to really have to focus on teamwork,” O’Keeffe said. “In one part of the game when we started getting down, I feel like everyone started working more against each other and we were playing as individuals. If we would’ve brought each other up more and started coming together earlier in the game, I think there could’ve been a different result, but I’m really proud of everyone for getting us here.”

With just two players graduating, Reeber says she will reload and has 12 juniors returning.

“We’ll be back next year,” Andrews said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 4:48 PM.