Miami High upends reigning state champion Southwest to win GMAC boys volleyball title

Sometimes no matter how good you think your team is, you don’t get the real answers until they face adversity and their backs are against the wall.

Miami High boys volleyball coach Rafael Cabanzon got the answers he was looking for on Friday night.

Hosting defending state champion Southwest in the GMAC championship game in the Miami High gym, the Stingarees brought a 20-1 record, No. 2 state ranking and No. 9 national ranking (MaxPreps) into the matchup. But they dropped the first set of a best two-out-of-three match and trailed the Eagles in the third and decisive set by as much as 10-5.

With the third set only going to 15, that was a tall hill to climb. But Miami High, on the strength of powerful performances from Jefferson Moreno and three consecutive clutch blocks down the stretch by Luis Lastre, did exactly that, winning 15-13 to take the match, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13.

It marked the program’s second GMAC championship matching the one they notched two years ago when they defeated Southwest, only to have the Eagles come back and beat them in the title game a year ago.

“Before we even played today, I told them that I didn’t necessarily care about winning or losing because this was just another obstacle on the road to states,” Cabanzon said. “I made it loud and clear that I didn’t care as much about the outcome as much as I cared about how they played out there. It wasn’t as much about winning this game as it was finding a way to play together and build that road to states. That said, coming out on top only made things that much better and to have battled back from a shaky start to do it told me a lot about our team.”

Cabanzon watched one of his star players, Moreno, dominate the floor, finishing with 16 kills, 10 digs and 2 blocks to lead the way. But perhaps the real hero down the stretch was Lastre. After his team won its service point to keep things alive at 12-13, Lastre proceeded to turn in three consecutive winning points on blocked shots at the net as Stingaree players emptied onto the court to celebrate.

“I knew I had to be there for my teammates, my family, my coaches, everything we fought for, everything we’ve been here for, all those hours in the weight room and all those hours here practicing,” said Lastre who finished with a total of six kills, six blocks and one dig. “We got off to a terrible start and that was a hard obstacle to overcome but it didn’t matter. We always fight for each other and sometimes that’s what it comes down to.”

After the Eagles (15-7), ranked No. 8 in the state, dominated the first set, Moreno started to take over in the second as the Stings jumped out to an early 10-4 and coasted home to the 25-21 win.

“We knew coming in against a team like Southwest, it was going to be a battle,” said Moreno. “Then we dropped the first set and our backs were against the wall. But our coach always preaches to us that it’s about us, family, and we managed to fight back. Once we got the momentum it was go-time for us. No matter what happens we always stick together and today it went our way.”

While the celebration was nice as the Stingarees players walked out of their gym wearing their championship medals and carrying the trophy, the real work could come in a few weeks because these two are likely to square off again in the regional playoffs with a lot more on the line – namely a berth in the state quarterfinals.

“It’s a definite possibility that we will see them again and it will be another challenge again,” Cabanzon said. “I told the kids to enjoy this moment, because just five years ago we were just a little school in Little Havana that didn’t have a volleyball program. So now to be five years in, beat them (Southwest) not only two years ago but beat them again today as the defending state champs, that’s a big deal for us.”

Also turning in big performances for the Stings were Alex Verite (14 kills, 12 digs), Evan Alarcon (10 kills) and Joseph Gonzalez with 12 kills and five digs.

MORE RESULTS

Semifinals: Miami High d. Columbus 25-21, 25-16; Southwest d. Palmetto 25-20, 24-26, 15-13; Quarterfinals: Miami High d. Varela 25-7, 25-14; Columbus d. Coral Gables 25-15, 26-24; Palmetto d. Reagan 25-10, 25-20; Southwest d. TERRA 25-11, 25-21.