Lady Sharks Well-Positioned To Dominate At State Tournament

Boasting a 24-3 record, including an 8-0 mark in Southern Conference Play, the Lady Sharks volleyball team is ready to make  some noise at the  Florida College System Athletic Association State Tournament.  

The State Tournament will be played in Jacksonville, Florida on Nov. 6-8. The team hopes to continue its impressive play there.

Having won 11 of their last  13 games, the Lady Sharks also have wins against some of the nation’s top teams such as College of Central Florida, San Jacinto, and Missouri State University.

Assistant Coach James “Jimmy” Exley predicted a stronger year for Lady Sharks this year. He said the team’s closeness has made a big difference.

“Team unity is a huge difference in this year’s squad,” Exley said. “They are very close,  and that is a big reason why we have been so successful, especially early on in the season.”

The Lady Sharks started the season red-hot winning their first 13 games and have not slowed down since then, dropping only three matches. They also managed to protect their home court, finishing with a 9-0 record at home.

Key contributors to the team’s success this season have been middle blocker Katie Hogan who averaged 9.1 kills per match; outside hitter Silvia Galeano, who led the team with 13.3 digs per match and setter Carelis Rojas who averaged 24.3 assists per match.

Exley said he is proud of the great season the Lady Sharks have had so far but he realizes it is time to put the past behind them and focus on the task at hand.

“Everyone is 0-0 at this point,” Exley said. “You can be undefeated this far and still come up short in the tournament.”

NOTE TO OUR READERS: The State Tournament was played after the paper was sent to print. We will provide a full rundown of the results in our  Nov. 25 issue.