Miami-Dade Boys’ Volleyball All-Star Game. Plus AAU award, new coach, softball finalists & MLB
The North came from behind to defeat the South 3-2 in the annual Miami-Dade High School Boys’ Volleyball All-Star Game at True North Classical Academy.
The South went ahead 2-0 by winning 27-25 and 25-23. The North then rallied winning the next three for the match (25-20, 25-12, 15-10).
North: César Martinez of iMater; Pedro Carhvalho of Divine Savior; Zachary Webb of Hialeah-Miami Lakes; Esteban DellValle of ATM; Miguel Canon of ATM; Diego Requena of Ronald Reagan; Michael Perez of Ronald Reagan; Santiago Mejia of Ronald Reagan; Alex Rojas of Mater Academy; Dominick Dominguez of Mater Academy; Branley Borrego of Barbara Goleman; Carlos Delgado of Barbara Goleman; Marco Molinet of Coral Gables; Steven Gibson of Coral Gables; William Hardie of Coral Gables; Julian Orue of Columbus; Coach Daniel Thews of Columbus.
South: Alexander Ovalle of Colonial Christian; Alexander Valino of Colonial Christian; Tariq Maduro of Ransom Everglades; Alejandro Ruiz of True North; Aisar Hernandez of True North; Roberto Romero of True North; Miguel Martinez of Belen; Nicholas Barrales of Belén; William Pedraja of Belen; Antonio Beleval of TERRA; Rocco Reyes of TERRA; Brayan Aguila of Varela; Dylan Reyes of Varela; Jake Colon of Varela; Dantrelle Fuller of Palmetto; Julian Perez of Palmetto; Alejandro Reyes of Southwest; Kevin Munioz of Southwest; Shiah Decastro of Southwest; Coach Jonathan Losada of True North Academy.
Match Stats: Brayan Aguila 2 Kills, 3 Digs; Nicholas Barrales 6 Digs, 1 Assist, 1 Ace; Antonio Belaval 1 Kill; Branley Borrego 3 Kills, 2 Digs; Jake Colon 1 Block; Shiah Decastro 1 Digs, 7 Kills, 2 Blocks; Carlos Delgado 3 Digs; Esteban Delvalle 4 Assists; Dominick Dominguez 1 Kill, 1 Block, 2 Aces; Dantrelle Fuller 4 Kills; Steven Gibson 3 Kills, 3 Blocks, 2 Digs; William Hardie 12 Digs, 3 Aces; Aisar Hernandez 13 Assists; Tariq Maduro 2 Kills; Cesar Martinez 1 Kill, 1 Block; Miguel Martinez 3 Kills; Santiago Mejía 8 Digs; Marco Molinet 15 Kills, 2 Digs; Kevin Munoz 2 Digs, 10 Kills, 2 Blocks; Julian Orue 1 Dig, 1 Block; Alexander Ovalle 4 Kills, 1 Dig, 1 Block; William Pedraja 1 Dig, 7 Assists; Julian Perez 1 Dig, 12 Assists; Michael Perez 2 Kills, 1 Dig; Diego Requena 3 Digs, 18 Assists; Alejandro Reyes 2 Kills; Rocco Reyes 3 Digs; Alex Rojas 3 Digs; Roberto Romero 2 Kills, 1 Dig; Alejandro Ruiz 5 Digs; Oscar Sanchez 1 Kill, 1 Dig, 1 Block; Alexander Valino 6 Digs; Zachary Webb 7 Kills, 1 Block, 4 Digs.
Daniel Benitez was the organizer of the event. The photographers were John Benitez (@Johnnybenitez_) and Jason Vilberg (@jvil_flics).
AAU award winner
Volleyball player Lia Estela Gonzalez, a 2026 Westminster Christian graduate, was one of 10 recipients of the prestigious 2026 AAU National Scholarship.
AAU awarded scholarships to five female and five male athletes valued at $10,000 each, after receiving hundreds of applications from talented and hardworking amateur athletes from across the nation. These scholarships are awarded directly to the recipient’s college/university.
Gonzalez, a 2025 Miami Herald All-Dade second team selection, will continue her volleyball journey at NCAA Division III Babson College in Massachusetts.
About Gonzalez
She has been a part of the AAU Volleyball community since she was 8-years-old, first competing throughout the state with her team, Miami Select Volleyball. She would develop stronger skills and begin to compete nationally with Miami Hype, Tribe and Miami Volleyball Academy.
Participating in AAU events taught her that success is earned through consistent effort, resilience and the willingness to step outside of her comfort zone; it wasn’t just about being the best player, but working hard to be the best version of herself, even through adversity.
AAU has provided Gonzalez with an opportunity to compete against some of the best athletes across the nation, develop communication skills and learn how to use constructive criticism to help grow. She says her biggest accomplishment throughout her 10-year journey has been learning to lead teammates with passion, represent her club with pride and play the sport with joy.
New volleyball coach
Barry University Athletics announced in February the addition of men’s beach volleyball, and the college now has a coach, selecting Sebastian Abreu to lead the program that will begin its first competitive season in Fall 2026.
Abreu, a Miami native, has spent the past five years coaching high school volleyball in South Florida. On the girls’ side, he spent time at TERRA, winning a district championship in his lone season there. He also spent two indoor seasons coaching boys’ volleyball at Miami Palmetto Senior High, winning a district championship both years.
Abreu’s efforts shifted to beach volleyball, too, as he is the head coach at Lourdes Academy for the girls, while coaching indoor boys’ volleyball at Felix Varela High School. At Lourdes he has culminated a 28-16 record with a district championship and two runner-up finishes. With the boys at Varela, he has spent two seasons there and collected another district championship while appearing in the regional final.
Note: He coached the Lourdes beach volleyball team in the state semifinals in Tallahassee and then drove to coach the Varela boys’ volleyball team that night against Belen Jesuit in the regional final.
The Buccaneers became the fifth collegiate institution to offer all four volleyball sports at a varsity level, joining NCAA DII Erskine and Tusculum, NAIA Hope International and Webber International, and NCAA DIII Stevenson. Overall, there are nine institutions that offer men’s beach volleyball, six at a varsity level and three at the club level. Joining the previously mentioned schools are NCAA DI Liberty (club), NCAA DII Wingate, and NAIA Arizona Christian and Park Gilbert (both club).
“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the launch of Barry University Men’s Beach Volleyball. This program represents an amazing opportunity to help grow one of the fastest rising sports in the country while building something special from the ground up,” said Abreu. “Barry has already established a strong volleyball culture with Coach Yelin’s leadership, and I’m excited to contribute to a program that will compete at a high level, develop student-athletes, and continue pushing the sport forward here in South Florida.”
On the club side, he splits his time at the Miami United Volleyball Club coaching 15s and 17s in indoor. While on the beach volleyball side, he founded the Seabreeze Beach Volleyball Club in June 2025 and has rapidly grown to the biggest boy’s beach volleyball club in Florida with over 50-plus athletes.
“We are excited to add Coach Abreu to our volleyball staff. He brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm in growing the game for men’s beach volleyball,” director of volleyball Yelin said.
Collegiate men’s volleyball is played during the fall season. The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) hosts a championship in Huntsville, Alabama every year in November.
State softball finalists
The class finalists for the 2026 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Softball and Softball Coach of the Year have been announced following balloting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and prep media representatives.
Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each one the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in their class. The two overall winners will be announced following a final round of balloting by coaches and media.
The Miss Softball Award finalists include: Courtney Wahlbrink, Junior, Pitcher, Coral Springs Charter, Class 3A Player of the Year: Led her team to the state title with a 22-2 record, an 0.66 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched. She also hit .396 with 8 doubles, 2 home runs and 12 runs batted in.
The Coach of the Year finalists include: Mark Montimurro, Coral Springs Charter, Class 3A Coach of the Year: Led his squad to a 23-4 record and the state championship. It was the school’s sixth state championship, but the first since Montimurro led the program to five consecutive titles from 2015-19.
Other locals in classification voting: 7A: 2. Cheyanne Chaffin of Western; 2. Coach John Bradshaw of Western. 6A: 3. Anabella Abdullah of Doral Academy; 3. Coach Willie Viruet of Doral Academy. 4A: 3. Brianna Brenner of Key West 3; Coach Jason Garcia of Key West. 3A: 2. Lydia Berent of Cardinal Gibbons.
Baseball program
Gabriel Coupet and Alexander Smith, two North Broward Prep baseball players, will participation in Major League Baseball’s Breakthrough Series from June 6-8 at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach.
The Breakthrough Series was established in 2008 and is a joint effort on behalf of USA Baseball and MLB, focusing on developing players on and off the field through seminars, mentorship, gameplay, and more. The event is part of the MLB Develops initiative, which focuses on growing the sport through elite training and mentorship, specifically designed to increase diversity and create a pathway to college and professional baseball.
The 2026 roster includes 61 players with previous experience at MLB Develops events, including 16 players who are returning to the Breakthrough Series after participating in prior iterations of the event. Fifty-one athletes on the 2026 Breakthrough Series roster have participated in the Hank Aaron Invitational, and 42 competed at DREAM Series and 37 have participated in MLB’s ID Tour.
Players at this event will be coached by an impressive group of former MLB players and coaches, including Marquis Grissom, Mike Harkey, Howie Kendrick, Jerry Manuel and more.
Since its inception in 2008, the Breakthrough Series has produced numerous MLB players. Seventeen current big leaguers participated in the Breakthrough Series during their amateur playing careers, including Taj Bradley, Justin Crawford, Michael Harris II, Nasim Nuñez, and Carlos Rodón. Additionally, over 50 current Minor League Baseball players and more than 100 college baseball players previously participated in the Breakthrough Series.
Send sports results
If you have spring and summer sports results (with stats) on high school-aged athletes or middle school-aged athletes -- who are from Broward or Miami-Dade counties -- 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.
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Compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
