Aquinas, Westminster Christian beach volleyball teams fall short of state title
The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders weathered the storm, but they couldn’t defeat the Breeze.
Aquinas’ beach volleyball team had its greatest season ever in beach volleyball, advancing to the state semifinals before losing on Sunday to Gulf Breeze, 3-1.
The Raiders finished with a 19-1 record.
As for the weather, play on Friday was delayed due to a pair of tornadoes.
During the tornadoes, the Aquinas coaching staff – led by Dave Palm – huddled the team’s 17 girls in their hotel’s lobby, trying to keep everyone calm.
But once the tornadoes had passed, the Raiders’ problems were only just beginning.
“We had no hot water and no electricity at our hotel since Friday,” Palm said. “There were a lot of cold showers.
“It was rough. We had to drive around to find restaurants that were open so we could get our girls fed.”
But despite all the issues, the fourth-seeded Raiders defeated Merritt Island on Friday night and Vero Beach on Saturday morning – both by 3-1 scores.
“The girls were focused,” Palm said. “Nothing was going to stop us.”
Nothing, that is, until the Raiders faced Gulf Breeze, the eventual state champions.
“We had a good run,” Palm said, “but Gulf Breeze had deeper talent.”
The Raiders had good front-line talent with their top two duos: Zoe Taylor and Zsa Zsa Ferguson; and Emily Rosinsky and Kristi Takocka.
Because of those standouts, the Raiders entered the state tournament with a 17-0 record and just three sets lost all season.
However, in three matches in Tallahassee, the Raiders lost five sets.
Still, the Raiders made the deepest run of any South Florida squad this season, just ahead of the Westminster Christian Warriors.
On Saturday, the 14th-seeded Warriors (14-3) ended their season just short of the state semifinals.
The Warriors were led by their top three duos: Zoey Matias and Gigi Artiles; Alyssa Cadavid and Alex Washington; and Lia Gonzalez and Gianna Romano.
Westminster beat New Smyrna Beach before losing to Jacksonville’s Bishop Kenny – both by 3-2 scores.
Despite coming up short, Westminster’s win over New Smyrna Beach was pleasing for the Warriors, who lost to that school in the 2023 state final. New Smyrna Beach went 28-0 last year.
“It’s great to win always,” Westminster coach Sylvia Guso said, “and it felt (especially) good to beat a team we lost to before.”
That was Westminster’s 10th straight win. However, the streak ended against Bishop Kenny.
“It came down to the last game, and we went point for point,” Guso said. “Bishop Kenny is a good team, but we’re proud of our girls and how hard they worked.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2024 at 5:29 PM.