Doral volleyball upends Cypress Bay to advance to third consecutive regional final
Doral Academy’s girls’ volleyball team has been preparing to make a run for a state championship for three years now.
After making their first state final four appearance the prior season, the Firebirds felt confident they’d at least get a chance to play for the title last season, but lost in the regional finals to Boca Raton.
A year later, Doral is getting an opportunity at redemption.
The Firebirds showed how much they’ve progressed over the past year and their resilience on Saturday afternoon as they broke open a close match to beat Weston Cypress Bay 25-15, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21 in a Region 4-7A semifinal at the Doral gym.
The Firebirds (22-7) earned their rematch at Boca Raton, which will take place on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the regional final, after the Bobcats edged Miami Ferguson in five sets in their regional semifinal, 25-12, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 23-21.
“Everyone just walked into the gym all season and got better,” Doral coach Julio Arnaiz said. “All of them are a year older now and in their third year running this offense so things look a lot smoother and they’re ready.”
Doral navigated through a tough schedule this season that included a best 2-of-3 match against Boca Raton at the Westminster Christian Invitational on Oct. 14, which it lost in three sets.
But the Firebirds were not at full strength that day with 6-3 starting middle hitter Izabela Molina out with an ankle injury.
Molina, the Miami Herald’s Class 7A-5A Player of the Year in 2022, returned to the Firebirds lineup earlier this week after missing roughly a month. Playing in her second game back, Molina finished with eight kills.
“Having Mo back makes us complete again, but we’re still working on being more connected on the court,” Doral setter Melissa Gonzalez said. “I felt calm having her back in this match.”
Gonzalez led the effort against the visiting Lightning (21-7), who lost in the regional semifinals for the second consecutive season. Gonzalez had 41 assists and five digs while Ainhoa Molleja totaled 11 kills, 13 digs and three aces. Bianca Hanks finished with 10 digs and seven aces while Erin McMullen had nine kills and seven blocks.
Doral cruised in the first set before Cypress Bay answered with a victory in the second to even things up. But the Firebirds responded quickly by scoring eight of the first nine points in the third set and cruising to a 17-4 edge. Doral did not trail again in the match.
“We’ve talked about being ready for the playoffs all season and being mentally tough in those moments,” Arnaiz said. “We weren’t executing well early, but it was mostly on our side. We just had to get back to our game and execute on our first touch.”
Doral knows it will have to be as consistent and sharp as possible to break through to state against a tough Bobcats’ squad led by 5-10 outside hitter and senior Natalie Depaula, an FAU commit and 6-2 junior Mija Benzuite, a UCLA commit.
“I feel like we’ve all realized that what we have is special, but it could end at any moment,” Gonzalez said. “We’re focused on taking one match at a time and beating our next opponent. Our blocking and defense has increased so much and we have great defenders on the back row so that’s going to help a lot when we face Boca Raton.”
MORE RESULTS
Region 4-6A: Miami Lourdes Academy d. Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 29-27, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18; Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas d. West Boca Raton 25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 15-10.
Region 4-5A: Okeechobee d. Fort Lauderdale Archbishop McCarthy 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-13; Jensen Beach d. North Miami Beach Mourning, 25-11, 25-9, 25-20.
REGIONAL FINALS
Tuesday - Region 4-4A: Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest at Miami Gulliver Prep, 7; Region 4-3A: Miami Ransom Everglades at Miami Westminster Christian, 7.
Wednesday - Region 4-7A: Doral Academy at Boca Raton, 7; Region 4-6A: Miami Lourdes at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, 7
This story was originally published October 28, 2023 at 10:04 PM.
