High school volleyball: Barron Collier falls to South Fork in five sets in 7A semifinal

STUART -- Barron Collier High School’s volleyball team was within one set Saturday of advancing to the Class 7A state championship match for the second consecutive year.

The Cougars never got it.

Angela Grieve finished with 33 kills, including an emphatic match-winner, as South Fork rallied past Barron Collier 21-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11 in a Class 7A state semifinal match.

"I feel ecstatic," Grieve said. "It's the best feeling ever."

Barron Collier (21-10) had its 14-match winning streak snapped.

The Cougars lost to Fort Walton Beach-Choctawhatchee in four sets in the 2017 state final and came within a whisker Saturday of getting a second chance at their first state title.

"They played better than us and we made a couple of mistakes we're not supposed to make," Barron Collier coach Yamil Del Valle said. "We had the lead in the fourth set but then we started making too many mistakes in serve-receive."

Grieve, a 6-foot senior who has committed to the University of Miami, turned up the intensity after Barron Collier had taken a two sets to one lead.

So did her teammates.

Trailing 7-5 in the fourth set, the Bulldogs scored four consecutive points to take a 9-7 lead. They fell behind 2-1 in the fifth set thanks to an errant hit and service error, one of 18 for the match.

A Grieve kill tied it and the Cougars never led again. At 14-9, the Cougars scored two consecutive points before Grieve''s match-winning kill finished it.

"Really, we just all stepped up and just put a little bit more on the court," South Fork setter Gracee Carpino said. "(Barron Collier) played well."

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It was an uncharacteristic stumble for a Cougars team that won the final two sets to defeat Fort Myers in a regional semifinal and overcame a one-set deficit to beat Port Charlotte in the regional championship.

Sophomore right-side hitter Skylar English nearly matched Grieve kill-for-kill, finishing with 32, plus 18 assists, nine digs and four aces.

Outside hitter Jennifer Coxwell had 16 kills, one block and 10 digs, libero Olivia D'Agostino had 27 digs, setter Hope Casella had 33 assists and seven digs, and Emily Trebilcock finished with 22 digs.

Grieve wasn’t the only key player for South Fork.

Libero Sarah Andros had 20 digs, right-side hitter Sarah D'Elia had six kills, two aces and five digs, and middle hitter Skylyr Magliochetti added eight kills and three digs for South Fork (20-7).

The first two sets featured 21 ties and 10 lead changes. Barron Collier closed out the first set on an 8-1 run. Grieve's kill finished the second set. 

South Fork led the first half of the third set before English's four kills and one dink capped a 5-0 run for a 13-11 lead. After South Fork tied it at 13, the Cougars used a 12-7 run to apparently take control.

The Bulldogs, who went 0-5 in a September tournament in Sarasota that proved a eye-opening lesson, refused to go away.

Now they get to chase the ultimate prize again.

"They knew what they wanted," South Fork coach Cherese Wiggins said. "They were going to go get it. We made it happen."

South Fork will meet Ocala-Vanguard (26-4) — the same team it beat in four sets to win the 2016 state title — at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.

State semifinals

Saturday

Class 7A

Stuart-South Fork 3, Barron Collier 2

Class 3A

Doral-Divine Savior Academy 3, First Baptist Academy 0