By: J. Daniel Pearson
Cate Palmi had nine of her match-high 26 kills in the decisive fourth set as the Osceola Kowboys defeated previously undefeated Deland (25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19) on Tuesday night.
It was a match of Top 10 teams according to MaxPreps, as Deland – who came into the match with a 9-0 record – was ranked third in the state overall and second in 7A; while Osceola (now 8-3) was ranked 19th overall and sixth in 7A.
“It’s early in the season but it’s always good to get a win against a team you may see again in the playoffs,” Osceola coach Carrie Palmi said. “It certainly will give us some confidence if we do meet them again. Overall, it was a solid win against a really good team.”
Behind the strong play of outside hitters of Palmi and Jordin Southall, the Lady Kowboys appeared headed towards a sweep. Palmi had eight kills and Southall added five and a block as Osceola raced out to a big lead and cruised to a first set win.
It was more of the same in the second as Osceola jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Deland came back with a 7-0 run and took a 17-16 lead. But Palmi followed a Deland ball-handling error with three straight kills as Osceola took control 20-17. Sophomore Brooklyn Sippio played a big role in the second set with four points scored on two kills and two blocks.
Faced with a sweep, Deland came on strong in the third.
Behind the serving of Victoria Stoltzfus (2 aces), the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed. Senior outside hitter Erynn Gotsch had a huge set, recording seven kills, a block. Osceola used a 4-0 run to tie the score at 19-19, but a return error followed by two kills by Gotsch made it 22-19 and Deland held on for the win.
Osceola also struggled early in the fourth set, falling behind 4-0. Deland would hold that four-point lead for first half of the game before Osceola rallied to tie the match at 13-13. After trading a pair of points, the Lady Kowboys would get a side out and would tie the match 17-17 on a Sophia Spivey ace and take their first lead of the set on a Southall spike. It would be the first of three consecutive kills by Southall, as Osceola forged a 23-18 lead and then held on for the win.
In addition to Palmi and Southall (15 kills), Sippio added eight kills and two blocks; while Spivey added six kills and an ace. Gotsh led Deland with 18 kills, three aces and two blocks.
“We were playing well and sort of lost our focus a bit in the third set,” Palmi said. “A lot of it had to do with some sloppy passing, but give Deland some credit too. After they got down a couple of sets, they did not give up and played hard to get back in the match.”
The win was the first of a busy week for the Lady Kowboys. They will host perennial 5A state playoff qualifier Bishop Moore (4-1) Wednesday and then travel to Gateway on Thursday.
FOOTBALL NOTE: Osceola Athletics Director Rick Tribit noted that Friday’s football game with South Dade would be moved to 7:30 p.m. due to the visitor’s long travel and predictions of early afternoon thunderstorms.
