Orlando Christian Prep

ORLANDO -- October 18, 2021

Trailing 23-22 in the 4th set and facing the end of their season down two sets to one against International Community School (ICS), the Lady Warriors came out a timeout determined not to let the season end on their home court as they won their first district volleyball match since 2017 in an epic 5-set battle 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, and 15-8.

In the midst of a rally that dripped with exhaustion from the anticipation and magnitude of what was at stake, junior Aalyssa Gunn found herself at the net and made the gutsy decision to tip the ball over the net into the middle of an empty area of the Comets defense to tie the game at 23.

With the score tied in another back and forth rally, the ball found its way to junior Carlee Cruz who geared up for the biggest shot of night. From the left side of the net, she spiked the ball cross-court just inside of the line catching ICS, the crowd and herself by surprise when the corner official lowered his flag to signal the ball was in, giving OCP a 24-23 lead.

Junior Lydia Mascari served up the set-winning Ace as ICS was unable to cleanly receive her serve. As the Lady Warriors on the court and bench screamed with joy as they jumped and hugged each other following the point, you could sense that the momentum had shifted over to the Warriors.

In the 5th and final set of the evening, it didn't take much for OCP to jump out to a 7 point lead and win the game on an ICS serving error. As the ball drifted out of bounds on the final serve tears of joy mixed with the overall excitement of what had just been accomplished soaked over players, coaches and spectators.

Reflecting back on that final huddle of the 4th set facing elimination, Coach Omar Soto emphasized the basics to his team before sending them back on the court.

"I believe the girls think I sound like a broken record when I keep repeating we need to control the first touch!  Once we get control of the first pass everything else flows in our favor," said Soto. 

"I also emphasize the attention to the details on everything we do including our setters and hitters, from communication on the court, to reading what the opposite team is doing in order for us to be in the right place for the right response."

His final words could not have been more well received.

"My last take is for them not to give up even when we are down. They need to be resilient and fight for every point until the game ends to our advantage"

OCP (13-10) advanced to the district semifinals to play No.1 seed and host, Orangewood Christian School. The Rams are considered one of the favorites to win the 2A State Championships.  Regardless of the outcome in that contest, the Lady Warriors have won already won the most games in a season since 2012 and have so much room to grow following Monday night's victory.

"Without a doubt, districts have been a challenge for us the past 3 years.  I still remember my first season with the team in the Fall of 2019. We were so close to winning that quarterfinal round, but we couldn't pull it through, said Soto.  "The season of 2020 was a devastating 0-8!  But as I said at the beginning of the 2021 season, this is a time to harvest what we sowed in tears."

He continued, "The fact that we hold a record of 13-10, is something that this program has not been able to recapture since the fall of 2012, where the team held a record of 17-9... Needless to say that each one of our girls that have stepped into the court have given 100%, if not more, of their effort.  We have come this far thanks to the team effort we have all played including players, coaching staff and supporting parents of our team!"

DISTRICT AWARDS ANNOUCED

The 2021 Class 2A District 10 Awards were announced with each member of the 7-team district placing two players on the team.

The All-Stars for the OCP were:

• Senior, Brianna Cooper (Libero)
• Junior, Aalyssa Gunn (Outside Hitter)