Coral Gables outduels Coral Reef to advance to regional volleyball semifinals
The Coral Gables girls’ volleyball team has made plenty of strides over the past couple of seasons.
A year ago, the Cavaliers broke through to the regional playoffs for the first time in over two decades.
On Wednesday night, Gables accomplished another benchmark in its recent resurgence when it topped Coral Reef in a five-set thriller, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 15-13 at its home gym in a Region 4-7A quarterfinal.
The Cavaliers (18-8), who have won 16 or more games each of the past three seasons, advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2002 and only the second time in the past 43 seasons.
Coral Gables also continued its impressive run this season by taking the fifth set after reigning GMAC champion Coral Reef (16-11) rallied winning the third and fourth sets. The Cavaliers avenged a loss to Reef in the GMAC final with a victory in districts last week and won three of four head-to-head matches this season. Gables went on to win its district title by beating Palmetto in the final last week.
Coral Gables will next travel to Weston to play Cypress Bay on Saturday at 2 in the regional semifinals.
Doral Academy d. Boca Raton 25-22, 25-19, 25-16: Marcela Carmona had 16 kills and three aces to lead the Firebirds (14-13). Amy Smith had 36 assists.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Mater Academy d. Cooper City 25-22, 25-12, 25-17: Angeline Benoit 20 kills, 19 digs and four aces to lead the Lions (13-4). Sofia Tovik also had 13 kills, 12 digs.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - St. Thomas Aquinas d. Coral Park 25-5, 25-8, 25-10: Emmi Merhi 10 kills and nine aces to lead the Raiders (24-4) while Isabella Sangha had 10 kills.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - TERRA d. Wellington Dr. Joaquin Garcia 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18: Madeleine Lopez had 20 kills, 11 digs and four blocks to lead the Wolves (19-7). Eva Perez-Guzman had 22 assists and 12 digs.
Region 4-5A semifinal - Archbishop McCarthy d. Norland 25-14, 25-6, 25-16: Fabiana Castro nine aces, six digs and 21 assists to lead the Mavericks (25-3). Juliana Lago also had 13 kills.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Lourdes d. Pembroke Pines Charter 25-20, 25-10, 25-10: Juliette Vazquez-Bello had eight kills, eight aces, seven digs to lead the Bobcats (22-5) while Lexie Espin had eight kills, four digs and three blocks. Jenna Acosta had 15 assists and Sofia Lagonowicz had 13 assists.
Region 4-4A quarterfinal - North Broward Prep d. Pompano Beach 25-8, 25-15, 25-5: Yasmin Diaz Tonon led the Eagles (22-2) with 17 kills. Dasia Johnson 10 kills, five aces and 10 digs.
MORE SCORES
Region 4-7A quarterfinal: Cypress Bay d. Wellington 21-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-13; Palmetto d. Stoneman Douglas 25-17, 25-18, 25-23;
Region 4-6A quarterfinals: West Boca Raton d. South Broward 25-9, 25-21, 25-16; Miramar Everglades d. Miami Beach 25-11, 25-18, 15-25, 25-13;
Region 4-4A quarterfinals: Mater Lakes d. Key West 25-11, 25-22, 25-10; West Palm Beach Dreyfoos d. American Heritage 25-19, 25-20, 26-24; Estero d. St. Brendan 23-25, 25-15, 16-25, 25-12, 15-7.
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Region 4-7A: Coral Gables at Cypress Bay, 2; Palmetto at Doral, 2
Region 4-6A: Everglades at West Boca Raton, 2; Mater Academy at St. Thomas Aquinas, 2
Region 4-5A: Naples Gulf Coast at Lourdes, 2; TERRA at Archbishop McCarthy, 7
Region 4-4A: Dreyfoos at Mater Lakes, 2; Estero at North Broward Prep, 2
Region 4-3A: Boca Raton St. Andrews at Pine Crest, 10 a.m.; Monsignor Pace at Gulliver, 2
Region 4-2A: Riviera Prep at Divine Savior, 1; True North at Westminster Christian, 2
Region 4-1A: Westwood Christian at Stuart Pine School, 2
