Finalists for top state volleyball honors announced. Plus basketball and soccer results
The finalists for the 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Volleyball and Girls’ Volleyball Coach of the Year have been announced, following balloting by a statewide panel of high school volleyball coaches and prep media representatives.
Some top locals are involved in the final voting.
Finalists for the 2023 Miss Volleyball Award include:
Class 4A Player of the Year Jackie Taylor, Senior, Middle Blocker, Gulliver Prep: Taylor led the Raiders to the Class 4A state title with 365 kills, 94 blocks, 34 digs and a .423 hitting percentage. She has signed to play volleyball at the University of North Carolina.
Finalists for the 2023 Girls’ Volleyball Coach of the Year include:
Class 6A Coach of the Year Lisa Zielinski, St. Thomas Aquinas: Zielinski led her team to the Class 6A state title with a 27-3 record. In 35 years at Aquinas, she has compiled an 892-192 record with seven state titles and 17 Final Four appearances.
Class 4A Coach of the Year Emilio Rodriguez, Gulliver Prep: Led his squad to the school’s first state title with a 29-3 record. In his three years at Gulliver Prep, Rodriguez has a 66-23 record.
To reach the finals, here is how top local coaches and players finished in the player of the year and coach of the year voting in each classification.
Class 7A Player: 3rd: Melissa Gonzalez (Doral Academy). Class 6A Player: 2nd: Sydney Van Cott (St. Thomas Aquinas). Coach: 1st: Lisa Zielinski (St. Thomas Aquinas). Class 4A Player: 1st: Jackie Taylor (Gulliver Prep); 3rd: Isabella Medeiros (Pine Crest). Coach: 1st: Emilio Rodriguez (Gulliver Prep). Class 3A Player: 3rd: Gigi Artiles (Westminster Christian). Coach: 2nd: Julie Doan Kurenuma (Westminster Christian).
Soccer
Miami Beach boys’ soccer is 5-0, and after an 0-3-1 start, the Gulliver Prep girls’ soccer team has won two consecutive games.
GIRLS: Archbishop McCarthy 1, Jupiter 0: Valentina Chavarria winning goal; Maicie D’Alessandro 1 assist; Gkps London Phoenix and Alisha Avila shutout. AM 5-0-1.
GIRLS: Gulliver Prep 8, Monsignor Pace 0: Samantha Ehrenreich 3 goals; Mia Sullivan 1 goal, 1 assist; Stella Balestrazzi 1 goal, 1 assist; Martina Vanegas 1 goal; Miranda de Armas 1 goal; Victoria Figueroa 1 assist; Kaira Krippendorff 1 assist, Emma Die Dienes 1 assist; Gkp Ana Levy shutout. GP 2-3-1.
GIRLS: St. Thomas Aquinas 5, Cardinal Gibbons 1: Genesis Hernandez 4 goals; Giuliana Kostick 1 goal. STA 1-1.
BOYS: Columbus 4, Ransom Everglades 1: Javier Voigt 2 goals; Gabriel Leon 2 goals. Col 4-0.
BOYS: Columbus 1, LaSalle 1: Col: Tomas Calonge 1 goal. Col 4-0-1.
BOYS: Coral Gables 4, Braddock 0: Isaac Herrera 2 goals; Kamil El Mersini 1 goal; Anthony Roles Fotso 1 assist; Nico Miller assist; Mason Wheeler 1 assist; Matteo Plaisir assist; Gkp Keller Evans shutout. CG 2-2.
BOYS: Coral Glades 2, Stoneman Douglas 2: CG: Jaden Lloyd 1 goal; Marvens Frederic 1 goal; Caleb Tomlin 1 assist; Jordan Alvarez 1 assist. CG 3-1-1.
BOYS: Coral Reef 1, Ferguson 1: CR: Brian Cano 1 goal. CR 2-1-1.
BOYS: Everglades 4, Piper 2: Evg: Edgar Avetisian 1 goal; Alejandro Lara 1 goal; Torin Desir 1 goal; Tristan Bustamonte 1 assist; Hector Serrano-Garcia 1 assist. Pip: Lucas Stephenson 1 goal; Sydney Bile-Hamilton 1 goal; Andrae Golding 2 assists. Evg 4-1, Pip 0-4-1.
BOYS: Hallandale 2, Piper 2: Hal: Edwinson Germain 2 goals. Pip: Andrae Golding 1 goal; Brayan Aviles 1 goal. Hal 0-1-1, Pip 0-2-1.
BOYS: Miami Beach 2, Varela 1: Daniel Jurado 1 goal; Satiago Guevara 1 goal; Kai Somoano 1 assist; Tomas Cortez 1 assist. MB 5-0.
BOYS: Palmetto 3, Coral Reef 1: CR: Yifrank Gonzalez 1 goal. CR 2-1.
BOYS: St. Thomas Aquinas 2, Belen Jesuit 1: STA: Chase Carroll 2 goals; Francesco Ninfole 2 assists; Sebastian Nimblett-Clarke 1 assist. Bel: Ryan Wendelken 1 goal. STA 4-1, Bel 2-2-2.
Basketball
St. Brendan boys’ basketball won its fourth consecutive game to open the season undefeated. Lourdes girls are 5-1.
BOYS: Belen Jesuit 72, Palmetto 69: Carlos Santana 17 pts, 3 asts, 3 rebs; Ignacio Falla 11 pts, 3 rebs; Alejandro Madrigal 10 pts, 5 rebs; Vince Lima 10 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts. Bel 1-0.
BOYS: St. Brendan 91, Schoolhouse Prep 49: StB: Varela 25 pts, Jimenez 14, Martinez 13, Alicea 10, Valdez 10, Gonzalez 8, Viegas 6, Raun 3, Villalba 2. SP: Samaniego 15 pts, Torres 10, Williams 8, Strachon 7, Daxon 5, Taylor 4. 3-ptrs: Varela 7, Martinez 3, Jimenez 2, Alicea 2, Gonzalez 2, Viegas 2, Raun 1, Valdez 1. StB 4-0.
GIRLS: Lourdes 48, Northwestern 28: Sophia Sandoval 16 pts, 7 rebs, 4 stls, 2 asts; Luciana Picasso 12 pts, 19 rebs, 6 asts, 4 blks, 2 stls; Michelle Falero 10 pts, 3-of-6 3-ptrs, 7 rebs; Sophie Llevat 7 stls, 5 asts, 4 pts; Micaela Perez 6 pts, 2 asts. Lour 5-1.
Submit sports info
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 2:44 AM.
