Lady Sharks Crowned State Champions For The Fifth Year In A Row
The Miami Dade College Lady Sharks volleyball team won its 46th State Championship after defeating Florida Southwestern State College 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-18) at the Florida College System Activities Association State Tournament in Jacksonville on March 28.
“It feels good to win but that’s one of the goals accomplished. We already have the Southern Conference, the State Championship and now we have one more to go,” said Lady Sharks’ Head Coach Origenes “Kiko” Benoit. “We celebrate today and go back tomorrow and try to get ready for the National Championship.”
With the win, the Lady Sharks move on to the National Junior College Athletic Association Southeast District Tournament. It will take place Friday, April 2 in Jacksonville.
The Lady Sharks open up against Polk State College. If they win that game, they move on to the championship game and qualify for the National Tournament in West Plains, Missouri, on April 15-17.
The Lady Sharks, who have been at the top spot of the NJCAA rankings for nine consecutive weeks, started the State Tournament on Thursday defeating Eastern Florida State College in three close sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-18).
On Friday, the team beat fourth-seeded Santa Fe College 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-23) before facing Florida Southwestern in the semifinals. The Buccaneers fought hard, but the Lady Sharks took the match in five sets. Miami Dade College won the first set 25-16, lost the next two 17-25 and 21-25, and won the final sets 25-14 and 15-12.
“Some girls probably thought that we were going to lose the game,” said freshman defensive specialist Stephania Vallejo. “But Kiko talked to us and asked us to calm down and to take the game point by point and set by set. So we did and it worked out.”
In the final game, MDC once again faced Florida Southwestern, who defeated Polk State College in the lower-bracket final 3-0. The Lady Sharks took the match in three straight sets (25-15, 25-22, 25-18) to obtain its fifth consecutive State Championship title and improve its record to 22-0.
The victory was boosted by solid performances from outside hitters Janelly Ceopa (18 kills and eight digs) and Erika Asencio (17 digs and 9 kills), setter Camila de la Rosa (26 assists and 11 digs) and defensive specialist Paola Pimentel (15 digs and six assists).
“[The players] did [well]. And actually, we played as a team because when someone was not performing the way we were expecting, another one picked up and did a great job,” Benoit said. “The whole tournament was like that. We never got everybody on the same page but we worked together as a team. I think that’s one of the reasons why we were able to come up with the victory.”
After the tournament, Ceopa, Asencio, de la Rosa and Pimentel were named to the FCSAA All-Tournament Team and First Team All-Southern Conference. Asencio and de la Rosa were also selected to the FCSAA All-State Team.
Pimentel received the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award after totaling 79 digs and 21 assists in four matches. Asencio won the Ilida Medero Player of the Year Award for the NJCAA Region VIII and Player of the Year Award for Southern Conference. Benoit received the tournament’s Mary Andre Coach of the Year Award and was named the Southern Conference’s Coach of the Year.
Two freshmen middle blockers were also selected to the Second Team All-Southern Conference: Brenda Arango, who averaged 1.56 kills per set and a team-best 1.41 blocks per set, and Mariela Jimenez, who posted 1.79 kills and 1.02 blocks per set.
“We’re all proud of each other because we played as a team,” Pimentel said. “I think we’re all very excited for what’s coming now, and we definitely have a lot of work to do, but we’re ready for it.”
