Playoff volleyball: Tekoa Barnes' record day punches Boca Raton Christian's state ticket
BOCA RATON — Class 2A's title matchup for Region 4 will go down in playoff volleyball history as "The Tekoa Barnes Show" after the Boca Raton Christian (24-4) sophomore posted a record performance to send her team to state.
No. 2 seed Jupiter Christian (18-6) was a great opening act, taking the first set and swiping the third to make Tuesday's tournament a thriller before the Blazers became region champs in five (23-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12).
Per usual, Barnes proved she was who fans came for, tallying a career-high 43 kills in exchange for the Blazers' first Final Four ticket since 2015.
Breaking another career record in blocks, making three, and outnumbering both rosters with a game-high 20 digs, she showed why she's a prospect to watch among Power 5 programs.
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Sharing the glory with her teammates, like eighth-grader Bradee Boyd who came in second on the roster with 14 kills and topped the stat sheet with three aces, Barnes said she feels like Boca Raton Christian "proved that being a young team doesn't mean anything and talent and hard work do."
"I believe in each and every one of my teammates and they believe in me," Barnes said.
Barnes just reached her 1,000-kill milestone on Oct. 13 against Oxbridge (11-10), where she posted 33 kills — only two days after a 34-kill performance in a five-set loss to Suncoast, Boca Raton Christian's last.
"Our setter, Caitlin Crino, did a really good job moving the ball around, and T just putting that ball away — she knows she's the go-to girl and she lives up to it," Blazers coach Len Visser said.
Eagles' flight lands at last
Jupiter Christian's trip south ultimately saw the former 3A program's nine-game win streak and season stunted, but the Eagles had little reason to return home with heads hung low.
2017 was the last time JCS made it to region finals and the team's transformation from a 2-3 start earned the bragging rights of being one of the only teams to rattle Visser.
In Boca Raton Christian's three-set sweep of the Eagles in August, setter Izzy Asconape got hurt, meaning the Blazers didn't get to see what Visser called "the real Jupiter Christian team."
Jupiter Christian totaled only 26 assists in their first go against BRC, including four from Asconape. The senior made up for lost opportunities in regionals, recording a season-high 48 assists of 52 total as JCS determined tipping the ball for points left the Blazers exposed up front.
"I think that was the second time this season that I was nervous about going into that fifth game," Visser said. "They played a smart game. They obviously watched our footage and knew what to do."
Senior Allison Moore led Jupiter Christian's roster with 25 kills, while freshman Ella Brodner proved the Eagles can still feel confident about a return to regionals next year, swooping in from the left side of the net to deliver match-tying kills and back-to-back, set-sealing blows.
"I think we were a 'sleeper' because we’re a bit undersized and maybe just didn’t have one headline player in the past, but our heart mixed with talent makes us special," Brodner said.
The sister of Jupiter outside hitter and Virginia commit Sarah Brodner, the younger of the two hopes JCS will "continue to make history, make winning part of our culture, and keep our team chemistry" heading into next season.
Eyes on Orangewood
In light of finding less competition in the program's last four playoff opponents — Donna Klein, Sagemont, Dade Christian and Archbishop Carroll — all of which Boca Raton Christian swept, Visser is happy to have had one last rally before meeting the cream of the crop for 2A.
"Tekoa made that decision tonight. She told the girls, 'This is it,' " Visser said.
Entering the fourth set after dropping the third, Barnes told her teammates: "No girls, we are going. We got this. Let's just pick it up. We're still in it."
The Blazers will have to keep that same energy for Orangewood Christian (19-9), traveling from Maitland to Boca Raton on Friday. As the top seed of Region 2, the Rams took down Ocala's St. John Lutheran (22-6) in three sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) to clinch their own championship on Tuesday.
The two-seeded Blazers bring just two seniors, five sophomores and are otherwise highlighted by a host of middle-schoolers. More critical than Barnes' experience as a returning starter will be her level-headed mentality as the girls take what's normally rival and five-time state champion Lake Worth Christian's spot in the Final Four.
"This is my first time in like...ever. I don't even know how to explain it. I'm just so happy," Barnes said.
"I see all of these girls that go to states, I see them in college and I see how compassionate they are and how much passion they have for the game ..." Barnes said. "I love this game so much I'm willing to do anything for it."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tekoa Barnes punches Boca Raton Christian volleyball's state ticket
