Only three weeks after their first-place finish at El High School Tournament in Puerto Rico, girls volleyball traveled to Jacksonville to play in the River City Classic. They returned to the tournament with high expectations as the defending Main Street Division champions.
After taking first place in the Gold Bracket and picking up a win against longtime rival DeLand, the team’s confidence was high.
“We really wanted to win our only other tournament of the season,” senior outside Hitter Mikayla Miessler said.
The team met that goal with a clean sweep, taking first place in the Main Street Division for the second year in a row.
The first match of the tournament took place on Friday, Sept. 12, against Tocoi Creek. Getting into their groove, the Huskies prevailed, winning in two sets with scores of 25-20 and 25-23. In their second match, they played the Choctawhatchee Indians. They finished the first set with a close score of 25-20, but settled in to win the second set with a score of 25-6.
After closing out the day on a strong note, the team was “feeling optimistic” heading into Friday. However, their first match on Saturday against Tampa Prep proved to be the most challenging part of the tournament, but they still managed to take the win in two sets.
After that match, they then took on the Gainesville Hurricanes, who had previously dominated other tournament opponents. The Huskies once again took the win in two sets with scores of 25-15 and 25-22.
To finish out the tournament, the team headed into the Gold Medal Match in the highest division, Main Street, to face top 25-ranked Providence School.
Hagerty came out swinging and dominated the first set with a score of 25-15. In the second set, the Stallions pushed back, but the Huskies (ranked 12th in the state) persevered to reclaim their River City Tournament champion finish, 25-22.
Senior middle blocker Faith Walsh said it was a “full team effort to bring home the tournament win” with underclass players like junior Bailey Lott “stepping up to the plate in a big way” after some seniors could not play in the tournament due to a rescheduled ACT test.
“It’s exciting to see underclass players stepping into leading roles this year, as we look ahead to future seasons with nine seniors set to graduate this year,” Walsh said.
Senior leading roles were also recognized at the tournament when Mikalya Miessler and Jenness Orcutt were named as part of the All-Tournament Team in recognition of their strong play throughout the tournament. Orcutt was also named Tournament MVP.
“I was really proud of how everyone performed over the weekend, and I was so happy to be chosen for both awards,” Orcutt said.
With a record of 14-2, Hagerty headed into Senior Night against Lyman on Tuesday, Sept. 16, on a high note with yet another tournament trophy in the case.
