Columbus, Belen, True North advance to state boys’ volleyball finals
The Columbus, Belen Jesuit and True North boys’ volleyball teams have never hoisted a state championship trophy.
None had even made it to the state finals before.
That changed as each advanced with strong semifinal victories in their respective classifications.
They will each play for their first state titles on Saturday at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
Here are some highlights from the semifinals:
Class 3A state semifinal - Columbus d. Seminole Ridge 25-13, 25-23, 25-20: The Explorers (26-5) dominated the match early and rode the momentum to their first state finals appearance. Columbus will face Horizon in the state final at 1 on Saturday.
Lucas Riva had 14 kills and Daniel Rubi had 11 digs to lead the Explorers. Charlie Friguls had 35 assists. Kevin Perez had nine kills and Cole Crep had eight kills.
Class 2A state semifinal - Belen d. Gulf Breeze, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22: The Wolverines (25-6) advanced to their first state final and will take on Winter Park Lake Howell in the final on Saturday at 4.
William Essig had 17 kills and nine digs to lead Belen and help it take control after splitting the first two sets.
Class 1A state semifinal - True North d. Cardinal Gibbons, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22: The Titans (20-10) bounced back after dropping the first set and secured their first trip to the state finals a year after making it to the final four for the first time.
True North will next face Tampa SLAM, the defending state champions, for the title at 4 on Saturday.
Sophomore Kaden Rosario led the Titans with 15 kills while Rylan Munger had 13 kills. Alejandro Ruiz had 14 digs.
Cash Remington led Gibbons (18-13) with 11 kills and seven digs and powered the Chiefs to that early set victory. But True North’s frontline withstood the early challenge and reversed the momentum in a close second set.
Class 2A state semifinal - Winter Park Lake Howell d. Archbishop McCarthy 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25: The Mavericks (20-9) dueled the defending 2A state champions before a tough loss in the third swung the tide back in Lake Howell’s favor. McCarthy nearly forced a fifth set, but couldn’t get the clinching point late in the fourth.
Junior Nick Castillo led McCarthy with 27 kills and five digs while Gabriel Segui had 16 digs.
Class 1A state semifinal - Tampa SLAM d. Monsignor Pace 20-25, 25-21, 28-26, 26-24: The Spartans (17-3) took the first set and battled the reigning state champions throughout the match. But Pace was unable to sustain the momentum and saw its turnaround season end short of what would have been its first state title. Senior Alejandro Fernandez led the Spartans with 12 kills and six digs and senior Isralijah Guillaume had 16 digs.
