- December 26, 2024
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FPC's Cristina Calidonio (6) and Dyllis Mballesube (27) get their hands up as Mballesube makes the block. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas players celebrate after winning the second set. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas students dressed as constructions workers and cheered on their team. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's homecoming king, Schmidt Joseph, cheers for the Bulldogs. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Frankie Good and Emma Wood jump up to block. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC coach Anthony Favors cheers on his team after they won the third set. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Frankie Good gets one of her eight kills between FPC's Bekken Mills and Dyllis Mballesube. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Emma Laupepa passes to a teammate. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Ashley Grove serves for Matanzas. Photo by Brent Woronoff
As the libero, Matanzas' Sydney Moses wears a different colored uniform than her teammates. On this day it's pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. By Brent Woronoff
FPC's Lily Puritis tries to make the block. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Ravenna Reed serves for the Pirates. Photo by Brent Woronoff
If the Matanzas volleyball team thought its rival would fold after losing the first two sets, it was mistaken.
The Pirates' got to celebrate on Senior Night, Oct. 14, with a 3-1 victory over Flagler Palm Coast, but not before the Bulldogs rallied to win the third set 25-20 and then battled to the end in the fourth set.
Matanzas won 25-10, 25-8, 20-25, 25-20 to finish the regular season with a winning record at 11-10.
"It's always a hard night on Senior Night with all the emotions," Matanzas coach Julie Menendez said. "But I feel we had an all-around team effort tonight."
"It was nice to go out with a big bang. It was very important for us. It was the last game of the season, the last game here for the seniors."
ASHLEY GROVE, Matanzas middle blocker
Before the match the Pirates honored seniors Brooke Ballschmieder, Emma Wood, Jordan Coolican and Ashley Grove.
FPC finished the regular season at 2-23 but first-year coach Anthony Favors was delighted by the progress his young team made over the year.
"The first time we played them we got whipped 3-0," he said. "To come back with this effort after getting whipped in the first two sets tonight speaks volumes about this team. I couldn't be more proud of them."
The Bulldogs graduate just one senior, setter Emma Emma Laupepa.
Laupepa had 25 assists for the Bulldogs, while Jada Pavlow had 19 digs, Lily Puritis had 12 kills and Christina Calidonio had six aces.
Wood and Frankie Good led the Pirates in kills with 12 and eight respectively. Sydney Moses had a match-high 29 assists, Revena Reed had six aces and Wood and Ballschmieder had 16 and 14 digs, respectively.
Grove, the Pirates' 5-foot-3 middle blocker, had four blocks in the match.
"I get a lot of touches," said Grove, who was converted into a middle blocker last season, although the position is usually reserved for the tallest players on the floor.
"Ashley can jump out of the gym and she has speed like lightning," Menendez said. "Even though she doesn't look like a middle, she is a middle."
"It was nice to go out with a big bang," said Grove, who, along with the other Pirates' seniors, played on her home court for the last time. "It was very important for us. It was the last game of the season, the last game here for the seniors. It was nice to have the student section we did cheering for us. It was nice to beat our rival."
