The boys varsity volleyball team celebrated winning the Silver Bracket at the Lake Mary Varsity Tournament from Feb. 27-28.
After losing 3-2 to Creekside and 3-1 to Lyman, the Huskies entered the Lake Mary Varsity Tournament looking to reset their season. What followed was a weekend of close three-set battles and a Silver Bracket championship finish.
Coming off a losing streak, the team admitted their energy was not at its peak to start.
“We were kind of stale starting off because we had come off losses prior,” senior Gavin Miller said. “But we picked it up toward the middle of the tournament and ended on a high note.”
Friday opened with pool play against Lake Buena Vista, Lake Mary and Seminole. The team handled Lake Buena Vista in two sets, setting the tone early.
The next two matches were much tighter. Against Lake Mary, the Rams controlled the first set, but the Huskies responded in the second and pushed the match to a deciding third set before falling 2-1.
Seminole was another back-and-forth contest. All three sets were close, with only a few points separating the teams. Once again, the team forced a third set but came up just short.
“We went to three sets in every game we lost,” sophomore Cooper Drewry said. “The scores were really close, about a five-point difference. We barely lost.”
Despite the narrow defeats, the team remained confident heading into Saturday.
“Going into this weekend, we were very excited and confident in how we would play,” Dewery said. “We were ready to win it.”
Saturday proved to be the turning point. Facing Windermere, the team won the first set, dropped the second, and then dominated the third to take the match.
They carried that momentum into their matchup against Olympia, controlling both sets in a decisive two-set victory to secure the win.
“It makes me feel satisfied,” senior Igor Sauer said. “We know we are capable of playing in the gold bracket, so it is a little frustrating that we did not perform as well as we wanted to on the first day. But on the second day, we went out there and did what we had to do.”
Preparation played a key role in the team’s turnaround.
“In practices, we watched the teams we would go against and did drills based on what they do,” Sauer said.
According to Drewry, serve receive had been a major focus.
“That is the biggest thing we need to improve on,” Drewry said. “Once our momentum drops, it affects the whole team.”
The win also meant something more for upperclassmen.
“It was definitely good to have a win in this tournament because we have not in the past two years that I have been on varsity,” Miller said.
While the Silver Bracket title is a step forward, the players have bigger goals in mind.
“Our goal is to win everything, county and hopefully go to state,” Drewry said.
The team is also aiming to surpass last season’s 14–11 record and make a deeper postseason run after narrowly missing regionals.
With a matchup against Seminole tonight, a team that pushed Hagerty to three close sets earlier in the tournament, the Huskies will look to carry their weekend momentum into district play.
After battling through early struggles and proving they can compete in tight matches, the team left Lake Mary with more than just a trophy—they left with renewed confidence.
