Judging by the lack of trophies in cases around town, you wouldn’t think volleyball has been one of the most successful girls sports in the area.
It’s definitely not for a lack of trying. It’s just that for over 30 years it’s been an extremely difficult hill to climb to get to the top of the mountain.
In the higher classes, the sport has been dominated by state powers Tampa Plant (10 titles), Olympic Heights (8), Miami Sunset (6), (Bishop Moore (4), Spanish River (4), Winter Park (4), Venice (4), Gainesville (3), and St. Thomas Aquinas (2).
While in the lower classes, the sport has been dominated by Tampa Berkeley Prep (15 state titles), Tampa Prep (15 titles), Lake Highland Prep (5), First Academy (5), Maclay (3), PK Yonge (2), Oak Hall (2), and Orangewood Christian (2).
Locally, the sport has been dominated by arch-rivals Bolles and Bishop Kenny, who have won a combined 3 state titles since 1974.
Under longtime coach Elise Bush, the Bulldogs have missed the playoffs just three times since Bush took over the program in 1986 and have a streak of 21 consecutive playoff appearances going dating back to 1995. Bush guided the Bulldogs to their only title in 1989, but has six state runner-up trophies to go along with it.
Bishop Kenny, under Suzanne Winkler, has a streak of 20 consecutive playoff appearances dating back to 1996. Winkler has been the coach at BK since 2003 and has kept the program in elite state power status.
The Crusaders have won two state titles (1999, 2014), including one under Winkler, and are coming off a 2015 state runner-up finish.
Yet as good as both have been, the two proud programs have three state title trophies to show for it, along with a combined 10 state runner-up trophies.
At least those two programs can say they get to the Final Four consistently. The rest of the area has three state titles combined with Sandalwood (1979), Fletcher (1981), and Nease (2008) being the only public school teams to bring home the hardware.
Middleburg, coached by longtime coach Carrie Prewitt, has guided the Broncos to six Final Fours, including back-to-back state runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2004.
The rest of the area has six state runner-up finishes since 1974, including Fernandina Beach (1976, 1977), Fletcher (1991), Orange Park (1992), St. Johns Country Day (2001), and St. Augustine (2012).
As the playoffs begin this month, teams will have a hard time getting to the Final Four but won’t go down without a swing.
Last season, Creekside advanced to the Elite Eight, while Ponte Vedra made the Final Four only to fall to BK in the state semi-finals. Who will be there this year?
District tournaments begin the week of Oct. 17-20 at various locations in the area. The top two teams in each district advance to the playoffs. Here is a quick rundown of where teams will play, beginning their quest for a state title.
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Teams Begin Push For Elusive State Titles
Written by Corey Davis
Photo by Corey Davis
