Unbeaten Westminster Christian volleyball riding ‘culture’ to potential state title

The day after Westminster Christian’s varsity girls volleyball team won the Nike Tournament of Champions Southeast in Tampa last month, the team came together for its weekly meeting.

The girls, who finished the tournament 6-0, laughed their way through the debriefing. They faced a bigger, stronger squad in nationally ranked No. 2 Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio en route to the tournament victory and defeated Cornerstone in three sets.

The chuckles and chortles from the girls the next day were part joy and possibly part shedding of the suspended disbelief they needed to overcome such a renowned squad.

“That’s been a defining moment,” Westminster head coach Julie Doan said. “Like, what the heck! Our little team out of Palmetto Bay, Miami, beat this powerhouse out of Texas.”

That’s what brought about national recognition.

Westminster Christian girls varsity volleyball is the No. 1 team in the state of Florida, 11th in the nation and – to date – undefeated. The Warriors (14-0) are on a quest to win their first state title since 2016 after reaching the championship game each of the last three years.

Putting together a winning résumé

The program has managed all this success against one of the toughest schedules in the state. Doan said that’s by design, as every year she goes through FHSAA’s championship archives from the previous season to assemble an elite caliber slate for her squad.

“We start our season with, ‘Let’s play the toughest teams we can play, and let’s go try to do our best, give it our best effort,’” she said. “We always go into every match thinking, ‘We’re winning this.’ Not in an arrogant way, but I don’t understand coaches that go into matches thinking, ‘We have no shot.’ For me, that makes no sense. Why would you coach that way? Why would you play that way?”

Westminster has never finished a season undefeated, Doan said. The team made it all the way to the championship match in the COVID-19 abbreviated 2020 season and lost. But Doan doesn’t subscribe to the seemingly universal aspiration in sports to play an unbeaten season. She and Westminster are too busy chasing titles and trophies.

“I’ll never do anything intentionally to lose a game, but I certainly don’t go into the whole season of, ‘We’ve got to win all of our matches,’” Doan said. “We really care about being in the Final Four and trying to win a state championship every year. And that’s the goal.”

Doan has coached at Westminster Christian since 2005. Under her tutelage, the Warriors have reached the state championship tournament every year since 2011. Westminster won state titles in 2013 (3A) and 2016 (5A) and has fallen in the state championship match the last three years (2019, 2020, 2021).

Maintaining the culture

The on-court product is a symptom of the culture Doan has established at Westminster. In her words and the words of her players, it’s a team-first, leadership-driven environment. Everyone involved in the program is determined to continue Westminster volleyball’s legacy, which includes the fifth-most state championship tournament appearances in state history (35) and one of the best postseason records (62 wins in 95 matches).

“We don’t want to be the ones that go down in history because we ruined the culture and we didn’t keep things running the way they were supposed to be,” Doan said. “And if you’re not prepared to maintain the culture and the standard, then you’re failing us. Not if we win or lose, but if you’re performing and acting and behaving below the standard, then that’s not a win for us.”

The pallbearers of Westminster’s culture are its leaders, particularly the seniors. Doan said in her coaching experience leadership comes with maturity and is a skill to be honed not born with.

“We talk and practice leadership as much as we practice volleyball because we think that’s such a big deal,” she said. “A lot of times coaches will say, ‘Oh, we have no leaders on our team.’ And then we’re always like, ‘But what have you done to train leaders?’ Like, ‘Oh, we can’t pass.’ What are you doing to pass? Or, ‘We’re not good servers.’ What do you do to practice serving? It’s the same thing [with leadership].”

Doan expects her players to make good on three “non-negotiables” during games and practices: no negative energy, solid work ethic and kind treatment of one another.

Senior Gaby Arroyo, 17, transferred to Westminster from Riviera Prep after her sophomore season. She said the best word to describe the team’s dynamic in her second year is “connected” on and off the court. The tournament in Tampa allowed them to spend a lot of time together, including carb loading with Olive Garden for team dinners.

“Last year I was a new player on the team, so I didn’t know the girls very well, and there was a new culture that I had to get used to,” Arroyo said. “But I think now this year our team has been so much more connected. And I think that’s why our season has been going on so well and we’ve been playing so well.”

Arroyo plays outside, all-around and back row. The University of Dayton commit said she and her teammates look to each other for guidance during practice and games. Even their scheme – serve and pass – is team oriented.

Alyah Cadavid, 18, is a senior outside hitter for Westminster and committed to play college volleyball at Winthrop University in South Carolina. “Joyful” is the best word to describe the team’s dynamic, she said.

“We all are happy and excited to play,” Cadavid said. “...We don’t want to just do it for ourselves. We want to do it for everybody on our team.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 12:41 PM.