Last year’s Dade Christian girl’s volleyball team fell short of their goal of winning the state title.
This year, the Crusaders made sure the championship trophy came home.
In dominating fashion, Dade Christian defeated Liberty Baptist in straight sets, 25-2, 25-7, to capture the Class 3A state championship in Ft. Pierce.
It’s the first state title for the school’s volleyball team.
Led by Katherine Kemp, Lily Sierra, Samantha Dorta, Elizabeth “Lulu” Maldonado, Gabriella Gonzalez and Mallory Carrasco, the Crusaders cruised through the regular season and won the district championship.
They dominated the regionals and went undefeated in the state tournament to capture the championship trophy.
“It felt surreal,” said Maldonado, the team’s captain. “It was a dream and part of reality.”
The volleyball team was seeking redemption from last year, when the Crusaders won the district championship but lost in the regionals.
Carrasco said her team played on a level that they can beat any team that stood in their way.
“We went with the mindset we’re going to beat other teams no matter how good they were,” she said. “The team has good chemistry between the girls and working very hard because we all wanted to win.”
Crusaders’ head coach Juan Castillo said the experience was surreal but he wasn’t surprised they won since they worked hard in practice.
“To believe in them and believe in the hard work they put in all season was amazing,” he said. “They applied everything they learned in practice and the outcome was surreal.”