Raiders Win 7th Girls Volleyball State Championship in Program History Under Head Coach Lisa Zielinski
The St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls volleyball program recently won their seventh state championship under the guidance of long-time head coach Lisa Zielinski, but this one may have been as sweet as any of those that the Lady Raiders have won in Zielinski’s three decades as head coach.
With their last volleyball state championship coming in 2018, St. Thomas Aquinas was hoping that 2022 would see their return to the top, especially following the challenges that the COVID-19 era brought about. However, a semifinals loss to Viera forced the Lady Raiders to wait another year before they would have the opportunity to win what seemed to be that ever elusive next state title.
You can call it a rematch or the revenge game, but the 2023 state championship game saw St. Thomas Aquinas facing the same Viera team from Melbourne that handed them that season-ending loss a year earlier. The result in 2023, however, was much different – and really, really sweet.
St. Thomas Aquinas won their seventh overall volleyball state championship to cap off a remarkable 2023 season that saw several Raiders step up with dominating performances throughout the year.
Junior Zori Brown recorded 228 kills with 138 digs and had a .294 hitting percentage; Mikayla Porter was exceptional all season long with 176 kills, 74 aces, 207 digs, and 445 assists; and Zoe Taylor made her presence felt in the postseason. Zielinski praised the play of Sydney VaCott.
“Sydney was huge for us,” Zielinski said.
According to Zielinski, the loss to Viera a year earlier actually served as a motivator for her team in 2023.
“Every season is different, but there’s no question that loss to Viera actually helped us and motivated us,” Zielinski said. “Sometimes that is what it takes, and it was very important for us to learn from that, and we did.”
The Raiders’ veteran coach said that the season didn’t necessarily start off well, with a couple of injuries to two of the team’s key players.
“Zori Brown went down early on with a high ankle sprain, and that caused her to miss the first three weeks of the season,” Zielinski said. “Then, Zoe Taylor goes down with the same exact injury, and I remember thinking, ‘We just cannot catch a break.’”
Zielinski was named the Florida Dairy Farmers 2023 Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year, and she now has 892 career wins in what has been a long and rewarding career that may get even better.
The coach said that the team will welcome back all but four seniors from the state championship squad next season.
“We have most of our core group returning, and we will have some good depth, which will definitely help,” Zielinksi said.
Tricia Couch, the sports information director for St. Thomas Aquinas High School, praised this year’s group, as well as the program and its long-time leader.
“When it comes to volleyball, we have a great team, and it all starts with Coach Z (Zielinski),” Couch said. “But it also trickles down to assistant coaches, student-athletes, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, our fans, and a home court advantage that is unmatched. One can’t be successful without the other.”
