Three area teams at state beach volleyball. Plus region volleyball, scholar athletes, tennis
The St. Thomas Aquinas beach volleyball team was runner-up in Class 3A at the FHSAA State Championships at the FSU Beach Volleyball Courts in Tallahassee.
In the semifinals, the Raiders edged Vero Beach 3-2, while Fletcher (Neptune Beach) defeated Venice 4-1.
Fletcher, last year’s state runner-up, beat St. Thomas Aquinas 3-0 in the finals.
The Raiders (17-2) defeated Cypress Bay 5-0 for the region title in its fifth consecutive region final appearance in the program’s five years.
During the postseason this season, St. Thomas Aquinas also beat Boca Raton Spanish River, Boca High and West Boca.
The Raiders featured No.1 Violette Zayas and Emma Bear; No.2 Dior Ferguson and Leah Novatne; No.3 Alexa Raymond and Isabella Vergara; No.4 Isabella Cabrerra and Sienna Weis; No.5 Giana Gorsin and Ava Dinda.
Class 2A
Chiles (Tallahassee) eliminated Lourdes 5-0 in the state semifinals.
The next day Chiles beat Merritt Island 3-0 for the state title.
Prior, Merritt Island defeated Charlotte (Punta Gorda) 4-1 to advance to the state finals.
Lourdes achieved a program best 13-5 record this season.
The Bobcats won the region title by edging St. Brendan 3-2, qualifying for state for the first time in program history.
During regionals, Lourdes also beat Jensen Beach and Stuart South Fork.
Top lines for the Bobcats were No.1. Ellie Muniz and Emma Muniz; No.2 Andrea Nunez and Juliette Vazquez-Bello; No.3 Amanda Travesio and Carolina Fernández; No.4 Jenna Acosta and Sierra Cotter; No.5 Alexa Rodriguez and Alexa Travesio.
The Muniz sisters (twins) led Lourdes throughout the season, and sophomore teammates Nunez and Vazquez-Bello stepped up throughout the playoffs.
Class 1A
Westminster Christian, last year’s state runner-up, was eliminated in the state semifinals by Montverde Academy 3-1.
Berkeley Prep (Tampa) then defeated Montverde Academy 3-0 for its second consecutive state title.
Berkeley Prep reached the championships by defeating Episcopal (Jacksonville) 3-0.
This marked the fifth consecutive FHSAA state tournament for Westminster Christian, finishing second twice.
The Warriors (18-4) beat Boca Christian, Florida Christian and Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) to win the region championship and qualify for the state final four.
The starters were Gigi Artiles and Cassie Thomas; Alyana Cadavid and Ava Cantos; Jordan Kurenuma and Bella Fernandez; Olivia Hernandez and Lauren Palczynski; Valentina Pazmino and Mila Delgado.
Prior to the FHSAA, Westminster Christian advanced to four state tournaments under the Sunshine State Conference banner, totaling nine consecutive state appearances (between the SSC and the FHSAA).
Region boys’ volleyball
The host Cardinal Gibbons boys’ volleyball team won the Region 2-1A championship by defeating defending state champ King’s Academy (West Palm Beach) 25-16, 25-19, 25-19.
It marks the program’s sixth region title.
The Chiefs (18-12) beat American Heritage (Delray Beach) and Pine Crest -- also in straight sets -- to reach this season’s region final. Placing second at state in 2023, they will play True North in a state semifinal on May 15 at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
The Titans (19-10) won the Region 4-1A title by eliminating Keys Gate, Archimedean and Somerset Academy Silver Palms (Miami), all in straight sets. True North was a state semifinalist last season.
Monsignor Pace won Region 3-1A, giving South Florida three teams in the 1A state semifinals.
The Spartans (17-2) defeated Greater Miami Academy, Downtown Doral and Divine Savior in straight sets, too, to advance to a state semifinal against SLAM (Tampa), last year’s state runner-up.
In 2A, Archbishop McCarthy won Region 3 by eliminating St. Thomas Aquinas 25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 25-19.
The Mavericks (20-8) will face defending state champ Lake Howell (25-5) on May 15 in a state semifinal. The winner faces the winner of Gulf Breeze (21-5) vs. Belen Jesuit (24-6) for the state title.
Scholar-athlete awards
The Delta Psi Kappa Student Awards were presented to numerous students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools recently.
Delta Psi Kappa is a national physical education organization, which promotes an interest in health, physical education, and related fields, and has been recognizing female scholar-athletes since the 1950s.
Thirty-one student-athletes were recognized with two receiving the Mary Mahan Grant for $500. Those were MAST Academy’s Calla Kelble and South Miami’s Ruby Levine. The Alleine Swain Scholarship for $1,500, was presented to Melissa Neglio, a student at the University of Miami.
The award recipients from each school were: American: Sade Reaves. Goleman: Dayanara Menendez. Biotech at Richmond Heights: Victoria Bermudez. Coral Gables: Corina McDanal. Coral Reef: Brianna Fields. Cutler Bay: Jade Cordoba. Krop: Al’Lonah Jones. Varela: Nevaeh Huffman. Braddock: Emily Cancio. Hialeah Gardens: Carolyn Lebroc. Hialeah: Angelyna Garayta. Homestead: Jalonnie Marshall. Ferguson: Laura Sardina. MAST Academy: Calla Kelble. Coral Park: Melaine Acosta. Jackson: Ashley Inestroza. Killian: Elizabeth Valdes. Norland: Alanah Charles. Northwestern: Jaiel Langston. Palmetto: Madeleine Baldwin. Miami High: Alicia Nunez. Southridge: Zaria Evans. Miami Springs: Grace Jagessar. Sunset: Gleidy Flores. North Miami Beach: Samiya Brazil-Elvard. North Miami: Berlinsca Jean. South Dade: Christella Joseph. South Miami: Ruby Levine. Southwest: Camila Rafael. TERRA: Kelly Furlan. Westland Hialeah: Victoria Pena.
State tennis
Michael Kypriss, who formerly coached at Killian and Dr. Krop, is the director of tennis at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, and his girls’ tennis team won its second consecutive FHSAA state title in Class 3A.
The Golden Panthers again beat Jensen Beach for the state championship in a rematch of the 2025 state finals.
Kypriss is a 2024 FHSAA HOF inductee, a 2023 NHS HOF inductee and a 2022 FACA HOF inductee.
Send sports results
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity sports results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. You will be alerted when it will appear. Also, some will be considered athlete of the week nominations.
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Compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
