By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
For the third time in four years, Osceola’s volleyball season ended one game short of a state championship match – as second seeded Osceola dropped a heart-breaking five-set match to third-seeded Plant, 15-25, 25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10.
This one will sting for a while, as the Kowboys entered the match as the higher seed, had not lost a set in the post-season and had beaten Plant in four sets earlier on the year. In addition, Osceola was red-hot, having won 22 of 23 matches – only losing on the road in five sets to Winter Park, the state’s top ranked team, in the final regular season match of the year.
Riding high after the come-from-behind fourth set win, all the momentum seemed to slip away from Osceola early in the fifth on a controversial call. Osceola had just taken a 2-1 lead, when the down referee called a penalty on Osceola’s bench for stepping on the court in celebration after the point. The point was taken away and awarded to Plant, who then scored the next three to take control, 5-1.
“I believe the Plant coach complained about us stepping on the court earlier and told the official to keep an eye on it,” Osceola coach Carrie Palmi said. “But protocol says you are supposed to get a warning before a penalty is called and that warning was never issued. One point, one call doesn’t decide a match, but it definitely seemed to take all the air out of us.”
Regardless of the protest, the call stood and while the Kowboys would fight back to make it a 11-9 game – Plant would take control of the match by scoring four of the next five to advance to the finals. “Give Plant a lot of credit, their outside people did a great job putting the ball away and they made some great digs during the match,”
Osceola started off strongly in the first set, controlling the action for most of the game. Plant did manage a 3-0 run late in the set to cut the gap to 21-20, but a side-out, followed by a big swing spike from Sophie Spivey gave control back to the Lady Kowboys. A combination block from Spivey and Brooklyn Sippio gave Osceola set point and Jordin Southall finished it off with a powerful spike from the right side.
The teams went back-and-forth for the first half of Game 2, until a 3-0 Plant run put them in front 22-18. A spike by Ella Mossbacher gave the Panthers set point at 24-22. Osceola fought off one set point on a Cate Palmi spike, but Mossbacher delivered another kill for the win. It was Osceola first dropped set in the post-season, covering six matches.
That momentum continued in the third set as Plant took advantage of numerous Osceola errors to build a 16-11 lead. Osceola would cut the lead to three at 17-14, but a 7-1 Plant made it 24-15 and Gaby Godsey kill gave the Panthers a 2-1 edge.
Osceola’s season appeared to be ending in Game 4. After battling to a 12-12 tie, Plant would go on a 5-0 run to take a 17-12 lead. But the Kowboys would fight back with a 5-2 run of their own to get it 19-17. Trailing 21-18, Osceola would force a “Race to 15” Game 5 by scoring seven of the next eight points to take the set 25-22. Cate Palmi would have four kills down the stretch for the win.
“I was incredibly proud of the way we fought back in that game,” Coach Palmi said. “When we pulled that out, I really had a lot of confidence heading in to set five. Unfortunately we just couldn’t keep it going.”
As has been the case all season, seniors Palmi and Jordin Southall led the way for the Kowboys with 26 and 19 kills respectively. The two also combined for 37 digs. Mossbacher (25) and Godey (16) combined for 41 kills for Plant.
Despite the loss, it was a sensational run for Osceola and its six seniors. The group accounted for four OBC titles, four district championships, three regional crowns and three Final Four appearances while compiling a 99-22 record (.818 winning percentage).
