Key West celebrated senior night with a win against Coral Shores on Oct. 10. The Conchs defeated the Hurricanes 3-1 on their home court for some late-season confidence heading into district play.
A makeup match against Mater Lakes did not go as well for Key West. The Conchs lost 3-0 two nights later, to end their regular season with a 7-17 record. Key West elected to play a level of competition beyond what they should expect in their own division this season. A FHSAA District 4A quarterfinal matchup against Miami Killian on Oct. 17 will determine whether that strategy pays off (results not available at press time). The Conchs earned the higher seed, which came with a home court advantage for the match. The winner of that match will go on to play Gulliver on Oct. 19 in the semis.
Coral Shores finished their regular season on the road this week, but the drive was not too terrible. The ’Canes played county rivals Key West and Marathon, splitting the matches. On Oct. 10, Coral Shores managed to win a set against Key West, despite missing two of three middle hitters due to injuries. They closed out their regular season on Oct. 12 in Marathon. The Dolphins gave the Hurricanes a great competition, but Coral Shores came away with the 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-11, 25-21). In that game, the Hurricanes were without all three of their middle hitters, forcing head coach Sam Ovalle to make some changes and hope for the best.
Iona Holmquist shifted her regular position and Nivaeh Howard was moved up from the JV squad to help fill the voids. “Both girls played tremendous for us,” Ovalle said. “I am really proud of them. Iona is such a leader and team player for us. We really needed her, and she not only moved positions to help the team, but she played great.” Coral Shores ends the regular season with a 13-9 record and now looks toward the postseason.
Marathon pulled out all the stops in an attempt to upset the higher-ranked ’Canes, bringing amazing energy and playing some of their best volleyball of the season in the loss to Coral Shores. In a rematch of their September win, the Fins dropped a 3-2 decision to David Posnack Jewish Day on Oct. 10, giving them a 2-15 regular season record.
At least one Keys team will make it past quarterfinal play. Marathon, seeded sixth, and third-seeded Coral Shores faced one another on Oct. 17 in Tavernier for the FHSAA 3A District 16 Championships (results not available at press time). The winner faced second-seeded Somerset South Homestead, a team Coral Shores beat in the regular season, the following night.
In preparation for the match, Marathon coach Kelley Cruz kept it simple, saying the “plan for districts is to see what we can fix and fix it.”
Ovalle was a bit more elaborate. “Marathon has improved so much and their crowd really brought the energy with their football team coming in after practice,” he said. “It was such a fun atmosphere and we kept telling our girls to embrace it. It’s the way high school sports should be. We thought we were going to be hosting Keys Gate in districts, and we know Marathon will make our first round tougher.
“We challenged our student body to make sure they bring the energy Tuesday like they did in Marathon. It should be a lot of fun and make it that much more special that our first district game will also be a county rival,” he said.
