Sanding ovation: Upstart FPC topples Matanzas in beach volleyball

Flagler Palm Coast players, coach learn together in their first season.

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High school beach volleyball had been a one-school sport in Flagler County over the past two years. This season, Flagler Palm Coast has joined Matanzas in offering the girls sport played on sand courts.

On Thursday, March 28, FPC played host to Matanzas at Wadsworth Park, and walked away with a 4-1 victory over its more established rival.

The last time the teams played, the Pirates defeated the Bulldogs 4-0 on March 1 at DME Academy in Daytona Beach. Since that loss, and a 5-0 loss to district leader Spruce Creek on the same day, FPC’s No. 1 pair — Lily Puritis and Kenna Kirshy — have won six matches in a row even as the Bulldogs’ other pairs have been experiencing growing pains.

“It’s not easy being the greenest team in the district,” FPC coach Nicole Puritis said.

It’s not easy being the greenest team in the district.”
— NICOLE PURITIS, FPC beach volleyball coach

The coach was not talking about the color of the Bulldogs’ uniforms. No one on the team had played beach volleyball before this season; that includes Lily Puritis, who will play indoor volleyball at Coker University in South Carolina next season. Lily’s mom, Nicole Puritis, who is also the Bulldogs’ indoor volleyball coach, has never coached beach volleyball before.

“I’m just as green to beach as the team is,” Nicole Puritis said.

Kirshy and Lily Puritis defeated Matanzas’ Bailey Londono and Paige Duckworth 19-21, 21-15, 19-17 to clinch the team victory. FPC improved to 2-7 with the win. (The Bulldogs had defeated Stanton Prep 4-1 on March 4 for their first victory in program history.)

After Londono and Duckworth won the first set, Puritis and Kirshy tied it up. They received a little extra motivation during a timeout when Nicole Puritis informed them that FPC had won the Nos. 2 and 4 pairings and a win at No. 1 would clinch the team victory.

The third set, which is a 15-point game, went to extra points as neither side could win two points in a row until the FPC tandem finally closed it out.

“We wanted it really bad," Lily Puritis said. "A lot of people underestimate us because of our record as a school. It’s nice to prove them wrong.”

Kirshy said she and Puritis have steadily improved since the beginning of the season as the two seniors have learned the nuances of the beach game and began to mesh as partners.

“Beach is a lot harder than indoor volleyball and a lot more work,” Kirshy said. “But I think it’s a lot more rewarding.”

LACK OF COURTS

The Pirates were missing a couple of players, including talented freshman Keri Petro, who normally teams with either Duckworth or Londono at No. 1. They were also missing one of their three coaches, Dawn Moses, who is the Pirates’ indoor coach and started the beach program at Matanzas two years ago. Moses, the director of indoor club volleyball at DME, was in Atlanta for a club tournament.

Matanzas fell to 3-8 with the loss. Like their county rivals, the Pirates’ roster this year includes a lot of newcomers to the sport.

“It’s good to see them learning and applying and saying, ‘This is a lot more fun than indoor volleyball,’” said Buddy Krueger, who coached the Pirates with Andrea Puckrein against FPC.

At beach volleyball matches, coaches have a diminished role. Players call their own timeouts, which are the only times coaches are allowed to talk to the players.

“For a lot of them, this is new,” Puckrein said. “They’ve shown so much growth, using new techniques and new strategies. And it’s nice to see them advocate for themselves, calling their own timeouts and calling themselves out when there’s a mistake. It’s good to see them show their independence.”

Both Flagler County programs are new to the sport compared to most of their Volusia County counterparts, who have had established programs long before the FHSAA sanctioned beach volleyball ahead of the 2022 season. One Volusia team, New Smyrna Beach, has won back-to-back FHSAA state championships.

The problem in Flagler County is a lack of sand volleyball courts. Matanzas and Seabreeze play their home matches at the multiple-court facility at DME. Some of the other schools in the district, like New Smyrna, have sand courts on their school campuses. Matanzas held its senior-day match at the two-court venue at Wadsworth Park the past two years. This year FPC is playing its home matches and is holding its practices at Wadsworth, while Matanzas practices at the single court at Holland Park.

“The county is not charging us (for use of the Wadsworth courts),” Nicole Puritis said. “They provide the nets and adjust the lines before every match. They've been great to us.

“Beach volleyball is a booming sport,” she added. “We just had to keep up with the times, offer what other schools are offering. We have four freshmen. By the time they’re seniors, hopefully they’ll be ready to play in college.”

 

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