William Gonzalez of Palmer Trinity Wins State Coach of the Year

Coach Gonzalez has been fortunate enough to experience winning in Volleyball on the International Level as well as the local level. His teams at Palmer Trinity have always been a team to recon with, usually going deep into regional and a few State Final Fours.

His knowledge and dedication to the development of girls volleyball has already been acknowledged by the Miami Herald three times with the Coach of the Year Award in 2004, 2005 and 2008. He is a man that is driven to teach the sport of volleyball at it's highest level.

Recently coach Gonzalez was honored by the National Federation of State High school Association (NFHS) with the 2010 Coach of the Year Award for the State of Florida for his dedication to youth sports.

Coach Gonzalez also operates one of the oldest and most successful South Florida Clubs out of Miami: South Dade Volleyball Club (SDVC) which is currently fielding 13 teams of all levels.



We Congratulate Coach Gonzalez for this prestigious award and hope he keeps up the good work and continues to mold future Volleyball Stars from South Florida.

1st Dade County Volleyball League comes to an end with SWAGGER

It all started about three months ago with try-outs and clinics. Then the league started with eight teams playing for VoleiMiami out of the SouthWest high school gym. After seven weeks of competition it was easy to see all of the teams as they improved.

Last Saturday, the 18th marked the first playoffs for the VoleiMiami League.

In the end the team that had gone the entire season undefeated had to fight through two tough playoff rounds to stay undefeated and become the first ever champions of the VoleiMiami League.

Champions The "U":

Second Place went to a strong team that had an 11-3 Season Record and eventually lost to the "U": the "SPIKERS"

Third Place went to a team that many expected to challenge the "U" as they went 12-2 through the season: the "FLYERS"

Over-all this entire season went extremely well as the level of play improved for all players involved. We think it's great to see leagues develop through-out South Florida that make the sport of Volleyball accessible to all income levels.

We salute VoleiMiami, all the players that participated and the "U" for a great 2010 season!

For more information on the league: visit VoleiMiami

CONGRATULATIONS TO CARDINAL GIBBONS FOR WINNING STATE

The state's most decorated volleyball program added to an already-rich tradition on Saturday, and the Chiefs did so in impressive fashion.

Gibbons was too strong, too big, and too powerful and there was little Fort Myers could do about it.

The Chiefs captured a Florida-record 19th state title with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 victory over the Green Wave in the Class 4A championship match at The Lakeland Center.

The win marked Gibbons' first state title since the Chiefs went undefeated and claimed the 4A championship in 2006.

Now this team and third-year coach Kathryn Farland will add their names to the long list of champions in the school's Fort Lauderdale gym.

"It's something we wanted for ourselves," said Chiefs outside hitter Jessica Wynn (PICTURED), who had a match-high 18 kills and 10 digs. "It's overwhelming."

At their first practice of the season, the Chiefs (25-1) decided they'd settle for nothing less than a state title and in Lakeland, they played like a team on a mission.

While each of the three games in the championship match was competitive early, it never took long for Gibbons to distance itself.

In the first, it was a powerful Wynn kill that put Gibbons ahead 22-18.

Game two was more of the same, with a Caiti Donahoe dig giving the Chiefs an 18-13 lead. And in the third, Gibbons scored six straight points behind the serving of Eleni Bakatselos to go ahead 19-9.

Each time, Fort Myers (29-4) tried to rally, but every one of those Gibbons leads proved insurmountable.

Donahoe, the Chiefs junior setter, finished with a match-high 36 assists and junior middle blocker Katie Hillman added 11 kills and 10 digs.

In all, the Chiefs proved efficient with their attacks, notching just 14 hitting errors.

"We came in knowing that Fort Myers was a great team and we were going to have to work hard and play our best to beat them," Farland said. "That was the most important part to us. Everyone wants a state championship, but to bring home 19 is special."

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUN SENTINEL - FOR ALL THE GREAT VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE THEY DO.

Palmer defeats Westminster Christian in Districts

The Palmer Trinity Varsity Volleyball Team defeated their rivals, the Westminster Christian Warriors, 3-1 to win the 2010 FHSAA District 16 Volleyball Championship. This is the 4th straight District Title for the Falcons who will now host a Region IV quartrfinal game on Tuesday as they take the first step to returning to States.

Paulina Prieto led Palmer Trinity to its fourth consecutive District 15-2A volleyball championship Wednesday night with a 25-20, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24 over Westminster. The Falcons (22-4) defeated the Warriors for the first time this season. Westminster had won the first two meetings.

"The girls had everything they needed [going in], and they came out knowing what needed to done.'' Palmer Trinity assistant coach Arasay Guerra said. "Prieto is very aggressive, she plays for the team and the team plays for her.''

Dani Littke recorded 80 assists and nine digs for the Falcons (22-4). Lauren Buss added 12 kills, two aces and 12 digs.

Broward District Playoffs: Pompano Beach and North Broward Prep Advance

All season long, Pompano Beach prepared for this. In anticipation of a tough district tournament, the Tornadoes scheduled regular-season matches against some of Broward County's traditional volleyball powers.

Wednesday, that effort paid off as Pompano earned a 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Pine Crest in a District 14-3A semifinal.

The win means that Pompano not only advances to Friday's district championship, but that the Tornadoes are already assured a playoff berth in next week's regional tournament.

The other team advancing is North Broward Prep, which defeated Coral Springs Charter 25-17, 25-16, 25-7 in the late semifinal.

"We don't take anything for granted in this district," said Pompano outside hitter Peyton Schlosser (pictured - Hitting), who had 13 kills, nine service points and four digs. "This district is really tough, but I think if we keep playing aggressively we can be unstoppable. Everyone is working so hard."

Earlier this season, when Pine Crest (21-4) and Pompano met, the match was an emotional, five-set Tornado victory. This time, Pompano (15-6) used effective ball control to force the Panthers into several errors — and earn a three-game sweep.

Maddy Clawges had 31 assists and nine digs, while Stephanie Pellitteri added 10 kills and 13 digs.

Evita Conway had 16 digs and 12 kills to lead Pine Crest, while Carolina Berger added 17 digs and Catalina Jimenez had 14 digs.

In the other semifinal, top-seeded North Broward Prep (19-7) needed just over an hour to earn its dominating victory.

Senior outside hitter Callie Mitcham had 14 digs and 13 kills to lead the Eagles while Victoria McPherson added seven kills and four blocks. Melanie Garcia had eight kills, six service points, and five digs.

Morgan Haynes had 13 digs and Ashley Corona had six kills for Coral Springs Charter, which finished the season 9-15.
Defend your school: Round 2 of Mascot Madness is open. Your school could win $500

Special Thanks to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel - the Best Volleyball Coverage in S. FL.

New League opens in Miami to Great Success

We are always happy to see when a league opens in South Florida to help improve the skill levels of our young lady atheletes. Recently AAU club VoleiMiami opened league play at Southwest High School in Central Dade County with Great Success

On October 23rd, Voleimiami Inc. had a great turnout with their 2010 Girls Volleyball League's Pre-Season Games. The turnout included over 75 girls ranging from ages 8 to 14. All levels of play were represented and were very competitive.

This league will allow the growth of volleyball to continue here in Miami and is the beginning of Voleimiami's effort to improve the level of play in Dade County.

If you are interested in the league, individual training or Club information, please contact voleimiami@yahoo.com

We can only hope that more leagues sprout up in South Florida and allow more of our lady atheletes to learn and compete in the great game of Volleyball.

St. Rose Girls' Volleyball Team Takes Tournament Title for Eighth Consecutive Year

The girls' volleyball team from St. Rose of Lima School in Miami Shores successfully defended its title at the All Catholic Conference Preseason Tournament held on September 18 at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School.

This is the eighth year in a row that St. Rose girls' volleyball team has gone undefeated in both tournament and season play. Pictured are (Front row, L-R): Erika Garcia, Maureen Gerhardt, Monica Tarczynski, Amanda Rey*, Jacqui Koebel*, Jackie Yao (Back row, L-R) Sasha Jenkins-St. Prix, Paige Zibelli, Sydney Armbrister*, Krystina Dorta*, Erin Donahue* and Mary Shelow*. (*Members of South Florida Volleyball Club (SFVC).

Way to go Ladies, keep up the good work.