Lake Worth Christian
wins state
volleyball championship
Wednesday,
November 16, 2011
by Joe
Williams
Lake Worth
Christian players celebrate after clinching the state
championship with a five-set win Wednesday night. (Joshua
C. Cruey, Orlando Sentinel)
Click
here to see more photos from the championship
match.
KISSIMMEE -- It has been a long
time coming - and it took a bit longer Wednesday night than
Lake Worth Christian's volleyball team would have liked - but
the Defenders can finally lay claim to the title: state
champion.
Lake Worth Christian (22-10) ended
a drought that included 16 trips to the state tournament,
including 11 under coach Terri Kaiser, without a state title
by defeating Orlando Pine Castle Christian 25-23, 25-14,
23-25, 23-25, 15-7 Wednesday night to take the Class 2A
championship at Silver Spurs Arena.
"It's like you come here every year
and you begin to wonder, 'When are we going to win?' " senior
libero Kristin Kintz said.
The Defenders don't have to wonder
any longer.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime feeling
for us and for our coach," junior outside hitter Kristen Reid
said.
After winning the first two sets,
Lake Worth Christian's celebration was put on hold as Pine
Castle (24-3) took the next two to force a fifth
game.
In that set, it was the Defenders'
big three who took over the match. Reid, Amanda King and
Elizabeth Owens all played big roles.
Reid, who had a match-best 29
kills, had a crucial kill and then served for six consecutive
points.
Owens, who had 10 kills, had a
block and a kill and King, who had 13 kills and 35 assists,
also had a kill while the Defenders opened a 13-4
lead.
"We kind of got off our game plan a
little bit," Kaiser said about losing the third and fourth
games. "Our feet got a little slow and we weren't attacking
any longer."
The Defenders opened the match with
a 5-0 run that started with an ace by Missy Reid on the first
serve of the match.
But Pine Castle quickly got back in
the match, scoring four of the next five points with Becca
Carr's kill getting the Eagles to 6-4.
Although Lake Worth Christian went
on for the victory with a kill from Owens, a 6-foot freshman
middle blocker, it was anything but a perfect
performance.
The Defenders had to overcome six
service errors.
"I always wondered whether this was
ever going to happen," Kaiser said.
"But, I know it has to be the right
team at the right time. This year we really attacked the areas
we thought we needed to improve on. The two things we worked
on was our defense and playing with our hearts."
Saturday, November 13,
2010
by Matt
Porter
Photo by Allen
Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post
BOYNTON BEACH -- Lake Worth Christian
coach Terri Kaiser is hugged by Kristy Golden (left) and
Brytney Annis (right) after Lake Worth Christian rolls past
Miami Christian in three games to reach the Class 1A state
tournament.
Click here to see
more photos from the match.
Before the opening serve of Saturday's
Class 1A regional final, Lake Worth Christian made the gym
floor look like a dance party, with players giving each other
elaborate handshakes and slick moves as they prepared to
play.
They had even more reason to dance
afterward.
The Defenders (27-3) took advantage of
nearly every Miami Christian mistake, sweeping to a 25-19,
26-24, 25-19 victory and earning a trip to the state
tournament.
Lake Worth Christian will play
Gainesville-Oak Hall in a Class 1A state semifinal Wednesday
in Lakeland.
All cause for celebration for a team that
has faced plenty of adversity this year with the loss of coach
Terri Kaiser's sister, Connie Vanderwey, to breast cancer and
beloved booster Robert "Pops" Stokley, who died following a
long illness.
Lake Worth Christian also had to overcome
the loss of its homecourt, as remodeling of the school's gym
resulted in the Defenders practicing outside often this
season.
"We've had hurdles," senior outside hitter
Kristy Golden said. "But we keep it steady, we keep it
consistent. ... (We're) playing for our family and friends,
and for our grandfather (Stokley). We keep playing for
everyone else, not ourselves."
Lake Worth Christian used a balanced
effort to beat the Victors, who they also beat in last year's
regional final. Junior libero Kristin Kintz (13 service
points, three aces, 21 digs and three blocks) and sophomore
setter Amanda King (30 assists) led the way. The Defenders'
dominant middle duo of senior Brytney Annis and sophomore
Meagan Milligan, combined for eight of the team's 15
blocks.
Milligan played with a single day of
practice, having been out since Nov. 3 with a sprained
ankle.
Miami Christian (19-7) got 16 kills from
senior middle hitter Andrea Garcia and 26 assists from senior
setter Alexandra Marchese. Miami Christian tied it at 24 in
the second game, but could not pull ahead.
"You can't ask for more," Miami Christian
coach Mary Odio said. "It was the defensive game that hurt us
today."
Lake Worth Christian has played in 15
state tournaments, and there are nine runners-up banners on
the gymnasium wall. Still looking for that elusive first state
championship, the Defenders say they're not feeling the
pressure this time around.
"It's the same net, same court, same
volleyball," said Annis, who had 17 kills. "I'm so excited to
get back up to Lakeland and do it."
2011 by Palm Beach
Juniors - Club 4-U Sports Inc. | All Rights
Reserved