Class 3A State Volleyball Semifinal: Trinity Catholic's season comes to an end with loss to CCC

OCALA — Clearwater Central Catholic used a versatile and potent offense and a rock-solid defense to rally past Trinity Catholic 20-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-18 in Friday night's FHSAA Class 3A state semifinal.

Avenging a four-set loss to Trinity Catholic in September, CCC improved to 20-7 and will play for the state championship next Friday at Polk State College.

The loss snapped a 16-match win streak for Trinity Catholic. The Celtics finish with a record of 20-4.

Previously: Trinity Catholic sweeps Trinity Christian to return to state

Marion County high school sports schedule: Volleyball, swimming, cross country, golf, bowling playoffs

"I thought they played better than us," Trinity Catholic coach Jeff Reavis said. "We won the first set with things going our way, but long rallies, consistency, not making unforced errors, they did a really good job of that. They played a great match in our gym and I have much respect for them."

Six Trinity Catholic seniors saw their high school careers come to end as the Celtics failed to add to the state crowns won in 2018 and 2020..

"This is a great group of seniors and I'm very proud of them," Reavis said. "Four of them have been to four Final Fours and it's so hard to see them end on this note, but that's athletics and that's life sometimes."

Here are several takeaways from the match.

Trinity starts strong behind Fitzpatrick, Campise, LaBorde

The first set was tight with the score tied four times, the last at 19, before Trinity Catholic went on a 6-1 run.

That run was sparked by kills from Amelia Fitzpatrick, Avery Campise and Kiana LaBorde, who had 11 winners, and a block by Emily Hirst to take the first set.

CCC offense begins to click

Clearwater Central Catholic began to find the range with its spikes in the second set and cruised to a 25-16 win as Aliyah Waldon had three of her 12 kills and Brooke Green added a spike, a block and a service ace to pace the Marauders.

CCC built a 19-17 lead in the third set before Trinity Catholic rallied to tie the score at 19l on a block by Fitzpatrick, who finished with 8 kills and 17 assists.

The next point was a long rally with the visitors eventually winning with a perfectly placed shot. A pair of Trinity Catholic errors and three Marauder spikes finished off the set.

The end comes too soon

The score was tied at 5 in the fourth set before CCC went on a 13-8 run with Lauren Cairo and Waldon taking turns finding open spots in the Trinity Catholic defense.

The Celtics pulled within 24-18 before Taylor Bedinghaus drilled a kill shot to win the set and the match for the Marauders.

Despite the disappointing loss, it was another successful season for Trinity Catholic.

"The girls gave everything they had and that's a tribute to them," Reavis said. "I really appreciate all of their efforts."

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school volleyball: Clearwater Central Catholic tops Trinity Catholic