High School Volleyball: Trinity Catholic sweeps Trinity Christian to return to state
Trinity Catholic is back in the State Volleyball Final Four.
The Celtics swept Trinity Christian Tuesday night, 25-18, 25-16, 25-23, to capture the Class 3A, Region 1 championship.
The Celtics (20-3) will host the state semi-final against Clearwater Central Catholic (19-7) Friday at 7 p.m. CCC beat Trinity Catholic in four sets on Sept. 15.
On Tuesday night, Trinity Catholic won the first set behind multiple kills from Avery Campise and a pair of service aces from Kiana LaBorde. The Celtics won the second set when Amelia Fitzpatrick spiked home the set-winning kill. The home team finished the match on Elayna Johnson game-winning kill.
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Here are the takeaways:
Trinity Catholic looks a like complete team
The Celtics have a good mix of seniors and juniors who have plenty of playoff experience, including a state championship in 2020 and now a third appearance in the Final Four. The key to the 2022 Celtics is that there are a number of players who can hurt the opponent offensively and defensively.
A frontline combination of LaBorde, Fitzpatrick, Johnson, Campise and Rose Gravel combined for 30 kills against Trinity Christian (25-4). Having the luxury of at least two or three of those hitters on the floor at all times allows for the Celtics to always be on the attack.
The defensive performance was just as good with a combined 37 digs and 18 assisted blocks. McKenna Yates led the team with 16 digs and LaBorde added 11.
Head coach Jeff Reavis was happy with the outcome but wants to see more consistency on Friday.
“I talked about believing we can do it and having the ability to be consistent," he said. "We did so many great things tonight but then we would follow with an average thing. Making the opponent work for points is important in these environments.”
Reavis said the Celtics have to make the other team work for its points.
"We can’t just give away points on unforced errors ... that is too easy for them," he said. "We have make it difficult for the other team and have them work for everything.”
Senior leadership stepped up when needed most
Trinity Catholic has a large senior class (Laborde, Fitzpatrick, Marisol Perez, Emily Hirst, Shyanne Marker and Isabell Basile) and the group used its previous playoff experience to help guide the team to the win.
In the third set, LaBorde had three kills and four points and Fitzpatrick had three kills and two assisted blocks. Fitzpatrick leaned on words said by Reavis prior to this year as motivation to lead her team.
“In these moments, Coach says ‘you’ll never understand until you’re a senior’ and I never understood it until I was a senior," Fitzpatrick said. "It feels different, knowing that it could be your last game, but you don’t want to think about that.
“You just want to play and have fun but also leave it all out on the floor.”
The third set a true test of perseverance
After winning the first two sets handily, Trinity Catholic fell behind 10-1 in the third set. However, the Celtics went on a 24-13 run, aided by Johnson, Fitzpatrick, LaBorde and Gravel to make a big comeback that was sealed on Johnson’s kill.
Most teams would have folded and prepared for the fourth set, but the Celtics were determined to not let that happen. For LaBorde, it’s personal motivation that keeps her going as the matches add up and players start to tire.
“As everyone gets tired, that’s when you push hard,” she said.
Added Reavis: “We showed a lot about ourselves in the third set. Most people pack it in but we fought the whole way. It’s what I’m the most proud about tonight and that set was one of our best all year.”
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Trinity Catholic defeats Trinity Christian in region volleyball final
