HAPPY HALOWEEN FESTIVITIES @ UM and FIU

Both UM and FIU host important match-ups on this haloween and the weekened.

UM will host ACC powerhouse DUKE at 7:00 PM. With the season winding down and only four home games UM really needs the support of its fans. Currently Duke is tied for the ACC lead and UM is only one game behind.

It will be a haunted weekend of volleyball for the `Canes who are encouraging all fans to dress up for Halloween, and where any child 12-and under wearing a costume will be admitted free of charge. Sebastian the Ibis will also be in attendance giving out candy to fans.

FIU also hosts a match against New Orleans wich is a leader in the Sun Belt Conference this evening at 7:00PM.FIU, ranked 18th in this week’s RPI, starts the trio of matches against a New Orleans (14-8, 7-4 SBC) team fresh off an upset at defending SBC champ, Middle Tennessee. The win ended the Blue Raider’s nine-match win streak and also breaks a string of 21 straight wins at home.

After the match, the FIU Volleyball team will give candy to all kids in costumes.

6A Regional Quarterfinals pairings for Tuesday, Nov 4th, 2008

A fast week of District Action has a few elite teams poised to advance in the regionals and beyond. Below are the South Florida teams that are focused towards one goal: BECOMING CHAMPIONS !

R14 Miami Springs
W13 Dr. Krop (Miami) (23-3)

R13 Goleman (Miami) (10-11)
W14 Hialeah (20-5)

R16 Miami Killian (15-10)
W15 Ferguson (Miami) (14-2)

R15 Southwest Miami (14-5)
W16 Miami Palmetto (24-2)

R7Sickles (Tampa) (8-5)
W8 Lakeland (20-5)

R10 Spanish River (Boca Raton) (19-12) » Wed. 11/5
W9 Royal Palm Beach (22-4)

R9 Jupiter (18-9)
W10 Boca Raton (19-6)

R12 South Plantation (12-11)
W11 Douglas (Parkland) (16-11)

R11 Coral Springs (17-11)
W12 Cypress Bay (Weston) (20-7)

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF OUR SOUTH FLORIDA TEAMS.

Southwest and Furgeson Advance in District 15-6A

All Southwest's girls' volleyball team wanted this season was a chance.

For the past two years, the once powerful Eagles haven't been able to get out of District 15-6A.

That drought ended Wednesday night when host Southwest clinched a trip to the regional playoffs by outlasting Lourdes Academy 25-15, 21-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-10 in a district semifinal.

The Eagles (15-9), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate the Bobcats and clinch a spot in the district championship match 7 p.m. Thursday at Southwest against Ferguson, which beat Sunset in the other semifinal.

''If there's one thing I made sure would happen this year was that we weren't going to wear out in a five-game match,'' Southwest coach Iris Carpio said. ``We've stressed conditioning a lot more this season and that paid off in this match.''

Senior outside hitter Miriam DeLeon led the Eagles with 12 kills and 15 digs, while junior Shannon Ferguson had a team-high 14 kills and seven digs.

Both helped Southwest put away the fourth game and tie the match after Lourdes had cut the Eagles' lead to 24-23. Southwest then put the match away in the fifth game behind the solid setting of junior middle hitter Hannah Penna.

Penna and DeLeon are the only returning players from last season who had played a full varsity season as starters, and DeLeon did that two years ago as a sophomore since she missed most of last season with an ankle injury.

Carpio has had to rely on many relatively inexperienced players throughout the season.

One such player Wednesday was first-year setter Kristen Rivera. The senior finished with 44 assists and had four aces.

''We've been successful in these kinds of matches because of players picking each other up when some are having bad games,'' Carpio said.

• District 15-6A semifinal -- Ferguson d. Sunset 25-18, 25-18, 25-22: The Falcons (21-4) clinched their second consecutive berth in the regional playoffs with the win and will try to win their first district championship Thursday against Southwest.

Ferguson took control of the match early and never let up as junior Kristin Walewski conducted the attack with 29 assists, four aces and three kills. Her sister, Alexandra, had a team-high 13 kills and four aces.

Junior middle hitter (Danielle Pohl Pictured left and accompanied by Valeria Mejia) dominated at the net with seven kills and also had two blocks.

The loss eliminated the Knights (9-13), who had reached the regional round each of the past two seasons.

Article written by Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald

1st Round of Districts have Started (6A,4A,3A,1A)

The Killian girls' volleyball team, a three-time defending state semifinalist in Class 6A, moved to the championship round of the District 16-6A tournament Tuesday night with its 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-21 win over Varela.

The Cougars clinched a berth in the regional playoffs and were led by Christina Luciano, who finished with 14 kills and 11 digs.

Killian also received a boost from Alycia Lenoble and Lauren Whisenant. Lenoble had 11 kills and Whisenant added seven kills and 18 digs.

The Cougars will face Palmetto on Thursday in the district final at Coral Reef.

MORE VOLLEYBALL

• District 15-6A (Quarterfinals) -- Sunset d. Braddock 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 15-13: Jovanna Santamaria led the Knights (10-12) with 52 assists, five aces, and seven digs. Lucy Perez added 29 kills and eight digs. Irina Reinoso finished with 10 kills and five aces.

• District 16-6A (Semifinals) -- Palmetto d. Coral Reef 25-18, 22-25, 25-10, 25-16: Lindsay Lewis led the Panthers (20-2) with 30 assists. Amanda Marquez had five digs and 10 kills. Michi Cebellos finished with five aces and 12 kills.

• District 16-3A -- Gulliver Prep d. Carrollton 14-25, 25-20, 25-14, 16-25, 15-10: Katie Mark led the Raiders (10-13) with nine kills, 13 digs, and two aces. Ali Carullo finished with five kills, 13 digs, and three aces. Kim Silichoke had 11 assists, eight digs, and two aces.

• District 16-4A -- Monsignor Pace d. Key West 25-27, 25-16, 25-14, 25-9: Viannca Noreiaga led the Spartans (7-11) with 10 kills, and 19 digs. Paola Blanco finished with 15 digs and 17 aces. Stephanie Mendigupia added 16 assists and two kills.

• District 15-4A -- Cardinal Gibbons d. Olympic Heights 25-9, 25-9, 25-11: Crystal Dedes led the Chiefs (24-3) with five blocks, seven kills, 11 points, and eight aces. Katie Hillman added eight blocks and five kills. Mackenzie Schward contributed five assists, four digs, 11 points, and two aces.

• District 15-1A quarterfinals -- Northwest Christian d. Champagnat 25-12, 25-20, 25-21: Monica Sapp led the Eagles (4-6) with nine kills and one block. Vanessa Valcour contributed five kills and three aces. Gabby Goodrich finished with 10 assists and three aces.

First Round of Districts are in from Class 1A

Princeton advances to next round in district tournament with a 3-0 win over Brito Miami.

Redland advances

Island advances

Calusa advances

Next matches on Thursday

Redland vs. Island

Princeton vs. Calusa

Final match will be on Friday

FIU Cracks the TOP 25

MIAMI – After an impressive 20-4 start to the season, including a 10-1 record in the Sun Belt Conference, the FIU volleyball team is ranked No. 18 in this week’s RPI rankings.

The Golden Panthers have 10 of their last 11 matches, including eight straight, and are ranked first in the SBC East Division.

The Golden Panther’s ranking is the highest in the SBC, which has five teams ranked in the top 61. Middle Tennessee (22), WKU (45), Denver (49) and New Orleans (61) are the remaining top RPI teams in the conference while Stanford is ranked first.

FIU’s non-conference schedule also shows well in the RPI. One of their non-conference wins came against Clemson who is ranked 33rd. UAB, one of just four losses for FIU, is ranked 27th.

This is the third RPI ranking this season and the next one comes out on Nov. 11. The RPI is used by the NCAA selection committee to help seed teams in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.

FIU hosts three games this weekend starting with New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. The action at FIU Arena continues on Saturday Nov. 1 against ULM at 1 p.m. and then Louisiana-Lafayette at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Huricanes Downgraded to 4th in ACC

The University of Miami (19-4, 7-4 ACC) started the week with high hopes of winning the ACC. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech stood in their way of continuing their dominance. First stood the University of Virginia. Miami started by winning the first two sets of the match but were unable to sustain the same enthusiasm and energy after the 10-minute intermission between the second and third set.

Starting the match hitting a slid .232 clip (35-13-95), the `Canes were limited to just .038 (29-25-104) the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers collected a .155 shot (32-16-103) in the final three sets. The University of Miami volleyball team dropped a 3-2 decision (25-19, 27-25, 13-25, 22-25, 13-15) in a five-set classic at the University of Virginia inside Memorial Gymnasium at Charlottesville, Virginia.

One day after falling to Virginia, the Hurricanes still had a chance to stay atop the ACC standings at the halfway mark of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule. But, for the second straight night, the Hurricanes were unable to slow down an opponent's hitting power, and their own mistakes.

Miami (19-4, 7-4 ACC) was held to just .149 hitting (42-21-141) in the match while having just one Hurricane player touch double-digit kills. The 21 attack errors was the third-straight match the `Canes have registered more than 20 errors in a match.

Virginia Tech (17-5, 8-3 ACC) hit .260 (60-21-150) on the night while posting the highest hitting percentage against the `Canes since Clemson (.281) back on Oct. 3 - also a loss for UM.

Although this was a tough weekend for the Hurricanes they are close enough (one game back) to capture the ACC. Miami has nine games left of which four (4) are at home. Two (2) of those home games are against ACC leaders Duke & Clemson. Make all efforts possible to support your Hurricanes.

Miami hosts Duke on the 31st and will have a "Haunted Halloween" at the James L. Knight Sports Complex. All children are encouraged to wear costumes, and will be admitted free of charge for all costumes worn. Sebastian the Ibis will be giving away candy at the match. The match begins at 7 p.m.

FIU Sweeps the Owls in Boca Raton, FL.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A South Florida match-up of FIU vs. FAU produced yet another victory for the Golden Panters. Freshman Andrea Lakovic had a season-high 16 kills to lead the FIU volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 26-24) win over Florida Atlantic Tuesday night in Boca Raton, Fla.

For the second time all season, a player other than junior Yarimar Rosa led the Golden Panthers in kills with Lakovic’s 16. Lakovic had her best match of the season with no errors and a hitting percentage of .696. Rosa added 15 kills to help FIU to their 11th sweep of the season.

FIU improved to 18-4 overall (8-1 SBC) and Florida Atlantic fell to 10-11 overall (3-6 SBC).

Congradulations to Palmetto Sr. for winning the GMAC

The Palmetto volleyball team credits a big part of its success this year to many different players stepping up during tough times.

Lately, that goes for its coaches, too.
A week ago, Palmetto coach Kim Latshaw gave birth to her first son.

Jeff Schneider, an assistant coach the past six seasons, was asked to fill in for Latshaw for the rest of the season.

Palmetto hasn't missed a beat, winning five consecutive matches. On Tuesday, it first GMAC girls volleyball title with a 25-9, 25-13 victory against Krop. Schneider, who won a state championship as a player on the 2003 Southwest boys' volleyball team, made sure to call Latshaw after the match to inform her of the good news.

That's the key to this team. We don't have one clear superstar. Everyone rises up and picks each other up.''

Led by senior Amanda Marquez, who had 10 kills and seven aces in the championship match, Palmetto's three victories Tuesday improved its record to 23-2 -- a school record through 25 matches. Lindsey Lewis, who had 29 assists in a three-game quarterfinal victory against Southwest, finished with 26 assists and 10 service points to help Palmetto dominate Krop.
Palmetto also beat Killian, a three-time defending Class 6A state semifinalist and district rival, to advance to the championship match. It was the third time Palmetto has defeated Killian this season.

''The attitude of this team has been the biggest difference,'' outside hitter Michele Ceballos said. ``When we started, the team was really bad, and we've built this up together.''

Other GMAC results -- Semifinals: Palmetto d. Killian; Krop d. Ferguson; Quarterfinals: Palmetto d. Southwest; Killian d. Hialeah; Krop d. Miami Springs; Ferguson d. Goleman.

As the High School Season Winds Down - Districts Start UP

Dade County Schools are winding down the regular season only to start districts next week.

Before we look forward to an exciting few weeks of Highschool Playoffs lets look at last years (2007) top performers.

Class 6A: 2007
Killian 23-4 Final 4 State Semifinals
Krop 21-3 Elite 8 Reginal Finals
Miami 22-1 Sweet 16 Reginal Semi-Finals
Sunset 17-5 Sweet 16 Reginal Semi-Finals
Class 3A
FL. Christian 21-6 Elite 8 Regional Finals
Class 2A
Palmer Trinity 24-4 Elite 8 Regional Finals
Class 1A
Redland Christian 26-1 Final 4 State Semifinals

This year Districts get on their way 10/27 - 10/31. We send our best wishes to all Miami teams. Hosts for the diferent district games will be as follows:

Class 6A
District 13 Krop
District 14 Hialeah
District 15 SouthWest
District 16 Coral Reef
Class 4A
District 16 St. Brendan
Class 3A
District 15 FL. Christian
District 16 Archbishop Carroll
Class 2A
District 16 Westminster
Class 1A
District 16 Redland Christian

Please check with the school websites for exact times and dates.

University of Miami leads the ACC

The Miami Hurricanes stormed two North Carolina teams this past weekend. UM swept NC State then followed with an impresive 3-1 victory over the University of North Carolina.

In the North Carolina game, Miami was led by Lane Carico's 18 kills and Jenny Mayhew's addition of 14 kills. Carico added 21 digs and Mayhew dug down for 14 of her own. Katie Gallagher was not to be outdone as she registered a double-double as well with 43 assists and 16 digs.

Miami now finds itself in the drivers seat leading the ACC with a 19-2 overall record in the ACC.
Stay tuned to see if Miami succees will be short lived as they face No.2 Virginia tech this coming weekend Nov. 1st.