WEST PALM BEACH – Cardinal Newman had dropped the first set against The King’s Academy, but had hope, trailing by only one point in the second set.
King’s junior Miranda Knoll put down a kill to make it a two-point lead and give the Lions back the serve.
Knoll served for seven consecutive points as King’s took full control of the match and rolled to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-10 victory for its sixth straight District 12-3A championship Thursday in its own gymnasium.
“Our energy went up a lot higher and our blocking and defense was really good,” Knoll said. “Keeping them out of system so we could return balls and play super aggressively was the main difference.”
King’s (19-7) and Newman (21-4) both advance to the regional and will play on Tuesday, needing three victories there to reach the Class 3A State Tournament.
“Miranda has a very good serve, it’s a nice float that drops a lot,” King’s assistant coach Haley Lane said. “We also have a very strong front row with Bella (Pens) and Mikayla (Matuszko) up there. It’s a strong blocking front row as well.
“We have a lot of talent on this team. We have a great group of seniors (Knoll, Pens, Hunter Saltalamacchia and Alanis Molina) and we also have some strong juniors and we’re deep, our sophomores and freshmen are players too. Keep up the chemistry and go far. It’s exciting.”
Lane was filling in for head coach Bethany Avila, who was out of state attending a funeral. The Lions lost in the regional final each of the last two years.
“The key was our focus. We came in really focused and ready,” Lane said. “We knew what job had to be done and everybody played their part like they’re supposed to. We kept the energy high and we finished.”
With Saltalamacchia doing a lot of the setting for Pens (6-2), Matuszko (6-3) and Knoll (5-11) the Lions were dominant at the net.
“They rely on their power,” Newman coach Joy VanDyke said. “They swing without fear. We had ups and downs. We made some really great plays, but we had an error-heavy match. We struggled at times and couldn’t get our momentum going.”
Pens had a block and two kills late to help the Lions nail down the first set victory.
“This was a really strong team that we were up against,” she said. “We had to be mentally and physically prepared. We made sure to move the ball around and we were able to get a lot of kills and we also had strong serves.
“I really hope we can go to state. I really think we have all the right players and have the skills to do so.”
Next, the Lions hope they can grab the regional championship which has eluded them the last two years.
“There are going to be challenging teams, but I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll perform at a very high level and play to the best of our abilities and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it with each other,” Knoll said, “I have very high hopes for us.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: King’s Academy volleyball wins sixth straight district championship
