Gulliver silences doubters, breaks through for first volleyball state championship
Apparently, it was Gulliver Prep vs. Everybody.
Gulliver Prep won its first girls volleyball state championship Saturday, capturing the Class 4A crown after rallying to beat Orlando Bishop Moore 3-1 at the FHSAA state championships at Polk State College.
“Our coach always talks about flipping the switch and we did,” said Gulliver middle blocker Jackie Taylor, who signed with North Carolina last week. “We have a great group of girls and when you all collectively want it, you just play your heart out.
“I am in shock right now to be part of this school. We have never done this before. This my senior year, and to check this off the box and make history is great.”
Gulliver was trailing 16-9 in the fourth set when it went on a 16-5 run to win 25-21 and seal the championship. Gulliver won the first set 25-12, dropped the second 17-25 and won a nip-and-tuck battle in the third set 26-24.
“We have been doing that all year. For some reason, we play much better when we are playing from behind,” Gulliver coach Emilio Rodriguez said. “It’s stressful, but these girls showed zero quit.”
Rodriguez is in his third season, and when he arrived, Gulliver was coming off a one-win season in 2020.
Gulliver was led by Taylor with 26 kills, 6.5 blocks and four digs. Hailey Brenner came up with 23 digs and seven kills while Julia Rose Rivera finished with 13 kills.
“Gritty, we’re gritty. Everyone will sacrifice their body for something,” Brenner said. “It’s not unfamiliar territory for us. Every game we have played this season, we were either down a set or down 10 points or something. We’ve got comfortable in that. “
Rivera, who just joined the team this season, mentioned no onlookers were giving the team a chance this season, and even the Gulliver student body were betting against them when they left for the state finals.
“It is Gulliver versus Everybody,” Rivera said.
Bishop Moore was led by Anika Groom with 17 kills and 12 digs while Emily Schellenberg had 23 digs and six kills. Leah McDonald had eight kills and three digs, and Sophia Ingelias finished with seven kills and 11 digs.
“(Bishop Moore) is a great team and very well coached,” Rodriguez said. “We are going to see them again somehow, somewhere. (Coach Tanya Jarvis Starrett) made a huge adjustment in the second set and we had to change our defensive rotations around just to pick up some of the short stuff.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 7:28 PM.