Cypress Bay volleyball continues impressive unbeaten season; Mater Lakes advances
When Nicole Arnold became Cypress Bay’s girls’ volleyball coach this season, her message was simple.
She wanted her team, no matter the outcome, to treat the next match and the next practice like a reset.
“We celebrate our wins and enjoy them but next practice, we’re back to 0-0,” said Arnold, who became the Lightning’s coach after four years coaching rival West Broward High. “It’s about ‘What do we do next?’ and ‘How can we improve?’ We’re a strong mental team and we make sure we’re all level.”
Cypress Bay has taken Arnold’s message to heart, and it’s a big reason it has yet to lose a match this season.
At Arnold’s former home gym at West Broward on Saturday afternoon since the Lightning’s gym was unavailable, Cypress Bay kept its unbeaten season intact with a comfortable 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 victory over Doral Academy in a Region 4-7A semifinal.
The Lightning (20-0) are having one of their best seasons in school history, and advanced to the regional finals for the first time since 2017.
Cypress Bay will next host Boca Raton, which beat Miami Coral Reef on Saturday, with a chance to clinch their first berth in the state final four since 2004. Cypress Bay has never won a state championship in the sport.
“This is a special group that plays for each other and supports each other,” Arnold said. “I think this season what’s different is that they understand each of their roles are important and valued in the same way whether it’s on or off the court.”
The Firebirds (12-13), which eliminated Cypress Bay last season in the regional semifinals and advanced to the state final four, nearly ended the Lightning’s unbeaten streak two weeks ago in districts after winning the first set and taking a 22-17 lead in the second. But the Lightning have made it a habit of overcoming adversity this season and rallied to win the match and the district title in four sets.
On Saturday, Cypress Bay took the lead quickly in each of the first two sets and overcame a sluggish start to the third to take control and win the match.
Junior Sophia Guzman led the Lightning with 16 kills and 16 digs. Junior setter Erin Huang had 18 assists and 14 digs while junior Julia Diaz also had 18 assists. Junior Hunter Crawford had 13 digs and Claire Diklich had four blocks.
Cypress Bay has trailed in multiple matches this season, sometimes even two sets to none and found ways to prevail.
“The girls have talked about changing the culture and what it takes to become an elite, championship-contending program,” Arnold said. “That’s the difference usually in a championship team.”
▪ Region 4-4A semifinal - Mater Lakes d. St. Brendan 25-17, 25-12, 25-22: Mater Lakes Academy is one win away from its first ever trip to a girls’ volleyball final four and if it plays the way it did in the first two sets of the Region 4-4A semifinals, Mater Lakes might just make it there.
The Bears scored one of the biggest wins in program history Saturday, sweeping St. Brendan to reach their first ever region championship. In the third set, they needed a comeback, but they cruised through the first two and, in the process, set a template for how they can reach Winter Haven for the Class 4A semifinals next month.
“We followed the game plan,” Mater Lakes outside hitter Sydney Wilson said.
The Bears (18-10) will host North Broward Prep in the 4-4A championship Wednesday night.
Their first two sets were clinical. In the first, the Bears fell behind 10-8 and then rattled off seven straight points to quickly pull away from the Sabres. In the second, Mater Lakes never trailed by more than a point and jumped up to a 14-6, and St. Brendan (12-11) never again pulled within closer than seven.
The Bears closed out each of those first two sets with defense. In the first, Mater Lakes scored two of its last three points off blocks. In the second, Bears middle hitter Juliet Morillo scored three straight, including one off a block, to give Mater Lakes a commanding 22-10 lead.
Morillo, a senior, finished with six kills and four blocks, while Wilson, another senior, paced the Bears on offense with 10 kills, plus 12 digs.
“Their outsides adjusted and started swinging line,” Wilson said, “so we adjusted and started blocking line.”
In the third, Mater Lakes finally ran into trouble, trailing for nearly the entire set and not taking a lead until the Bears went up 21-20.
Mater Lakes’ biggest deficit came at 18-14 and Emilio Urgell took a timeout.
“I just told the girls to make it a close game,” the Bears coach said. “If you made it a close game, we were going to have a chance to win it at the end.”
Mater Lakes came out of the timeout with four straight points, with back-to-back kills by Bears middle hitter Sophia Bermudez finally knotting the score at 18-18. The Sabres answered back with back-to-back points, but then Mater Lakes finally put away the victory, scoring five in a row to go up 23-20.
Again, defense helped the key decisive run, with Bears middle hitter Kylie Parker coming off the bench for a key block and another kill during the 5-0 run.
Wilson also scored three of the last six points to send Mater Lakes into the region title match.
“Obviously, it wasn’t our best set, but it’s mostly focusing … and stay aggressive,” Wilson said.
The Bears’ final burst, plus two near-flawless sets to start the region semis, has more history in Mater Lakes’ sights.
“We’ve been talking about minimizing mistakes,” Urgell said. “If the set’s not there, just keep it in play, reset and give your blocking a chance. I think we’re a good blocking team and we want to take advantage of that.”
DAVID WILSON
MORE RESULTS
REGION SEMIFINALS
4-7A: Boca Raton d. Coral Reef 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23; 4-6A: South Plantation d. Mater Academy 25-11, 25-20, 25-16; St. Thomas Aquinas d. West Boca Raton 25-11, 25-16, 25-10; 4-5A: Lourdes d. Pembroke Pines Charter 25-13, 25-10, 25-17; Archbishop McCarthy d. Fort Myers 25-16, 25-17, 25-20; 4-4A: North Broward Prep d. Naples Barron Collier 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-5; 4-3A: Pine Crest d. Calvary Christian 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15; Gulliver d. Ransom Everglades 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17; 4-2A: Westminster Christian d. Palmer Trinity 25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24; Divine Savior d. Riviera Prep 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 25-15; 3-2A: Naples First Baptist d. Westminster Academy 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-17; 4-1A: Sagemont d. Lake Worth Christian 25-17, 25-19, 25-16.
REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
4-7A: Cypress Bay d. Wellington 25-13, 25-20, 25-22; Doral d. Coral Gables 25-19, 25-12, 24-26, 25-23; Boca Raton d. Western 25-18, 26-24, 28-30, 25-22; Coral Reef d. Douglas, 19-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22; 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas d. Braddock 25-2, 25-8, 25-2; West Boca Raton d. Cooper City 25-17, 28-26, 25-20; South Plantation d. Everglades 25-14, 25-16, 25-19; Mater Academy d. Dr. Krop 25-16, 25-9, 25-11; 4-5A: Lourdes d. Pembroke Pines Charter 25-12, 25-11, 25-13; Pembroke Pines Charter d. Dr. Garcia 12-25, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13; Archbishop McCarthy d. Naples Gulf Coast, 25-17, 25-10, 25-18; 4-4A: Mater Lakes d. LaBelle 25-11, 25-19, 25-15; St. Brendan d. Estero 25-23, 25-15, 25-17; North Broward Prep d. Mourning 20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19; Naples Barron Collier d. American Heritage 25-9, 25-11, 25-14; 4-3A: Pine Crest d. Downtown Doral 25-11, 25-14, 25-6.
This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 7:45 PM.
