Westminster Christian volleyball denied perfect season as state finals skid continues
There were no tears at first, only shocked looks as the Westminster Christian girls’ volleyball team looked across the court on Sunday night.
This was the year it would be different, right? It would be them jumping up and down celebrating, right?
Especially after winning their first 27 matches, and after earning a No. 8 national ranking by USA Today.
Instead, the Warriors once again stood dejected, wearing silver medals and holding the state runner-up trophy after falling in three sets 25-22, 25-23, 27-25 to Clearwater Central Catholic in the Class 3A final at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
Westminster Christian (27-1) lost in the state final for the fourth consecutive year and was denied what would have been its first-ever unbeaten season.
The Warriors weren’t just aiming for school history. A win would have made them only the second Miami-Dade County program to finish a year undefeated. Miami Sunset in 1988 remains the county’s only team to accomplish the feat.
This is the second time Westminster Christian was denied going undefeated, also losing in the final after winning 22 in a row in 2020.
The Warriors have been to the top of the mountain before, winning state titles in 2013 and 2016. But in recent years, the final hurdle has been the most challenging.
The match had originally been scheduled for Friday afternoon before the schedule was pushed back due to Tropical Storm Nicole.
The Warriors dueled with the Marauders throughout the first set until Aliyah Waldon, a Mercer University commit, helped them take the lead with back-to-back blocks followed by an ace which the line judge ruled in.
It was the first set Westminster dropped since Sept. 3 in a match against San Antonio (Tex.) Cornerstone Christian - the No. 2-ranked team in the nation.
Westminster trailed in the second set 19-15 before Alyah Cadavid recorded three consecutive aces to help the Warriors even the score at 19. After dueling to 23 even, an ace by CCC and a block by Josephine Hensley secured a 2-0 lead for the Marauders.
In the third set, Westminster improved its serve receive and took a 23-17 lead led by two of its top seniors in Emily Matias and Gaby Arroyo. The Warriors appeared to be ready to swing the momentum in their favor before errors contributed to the Marauders cutting their lead to 23-22. Even then, freshman Gigi Artilles’ kill gave Westminster a set point.
But Clearwater Central Catholic’s libero Lauren Cairo, the daughter of former Major League Baseball standout Miguel Cairo and Stetson University commit, continuously kept rallies alive with digs until the Marauders put it away on kills by Waldon and Taylor Bedinghaus.
