Lyman High School’s girls volleyball seniors, including standouts Valeria Rosado, Alanys Viera and Sky Raphael, lined up to sing their school’s alma mater for the final time on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a song that took some time to learn. Sort of like learning how to turn a losing program into a No. 1-ranked state power in a span of four years.
“Freshman year I didn’t know the words. I just hummed it,” Viera said with a sheepish smile after the Greyhounds routed St. Johns Bartram Trail in a Class 7A, Region 1 championship match.
They added to a stellar performance with their post-match rendition of the “Dear Old Lyman, Dear Old Lyman” ditty to close out their final homecourt appearance for six seniors.
Lyman (27-1), which claimed the first region title in program history with its 25-12, 25-12, 25-17 sweep of the Bears (14-8), will play at backyard rival Lake Brantley (20-6) in a state semifinal next Saturday. The winner of that match advances to the Florida High School Athletic Association state final on Nov. 13 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.
Brantley bounced back after losing an epic first set to win 29-31, 25-20, 25-18, 25-10 at Hagerty (15-6) in the Region 1 final.
Lyman, which is ranked No. 1 in 7A and No. 10 nationally by MaxPreps, struggled to get into its offensive rhythm early against underdog Bartram Trail and found itself down 5-3 after allowing an ace serve by the Bears.
But Rosado, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, took over the match at that point, spurring her team to a lopsided victory. Viera, who finished with 35 assists, looked for Rosado at every opportunity and she came through with 11 kills in the first set.
Rosado attacked successfully on seven of Lyman’s eight points in a run that put the Greyhounds in control.
Rosado finished with 25 kills for the day.
Gabriela Pagan, a junior defensive specialist, had 14 digs in the win and Raphael contributed 9 kills. Sara Ferrer, another junior, helped close out the match with a six-point service turn.
Brantley’s only previous region title in the sport came with its 1987 state runner-up showing.
Laura Fischer, a 6-foot-3 senior, led the Patriots with 21 kills. Mya Mendoza, a junior, delivered 54 assists and senior Victoria Annoni scrambled for 39 digs. Sophomore Sara Gooch added 16 kills as Brantley avenged a 3-0 regular-season loss to the Huskies.
First-year Lake Brantley coach Allan Knight said losing the opening game did not discourage his team.
“That was one of those defining moments,” he said. “They didn’t get disheartened. We stayed right with them in that set and that really gave the girls motivation that we could match up.”
Lions roar: Like Lyman, Lake Nona is a girls volleyball region champ for the first time after scoring a 25-15, 25-22, 25-17 win at Kissimmee Osceola in the 7A, Region 3 final.
Cambry Pope had 12 kills to propel the balanced Lions (19-3) to their 13th consecutive victory. They’ve made it look easy with 3-0 sweeps in their past four matches but Lake Nona setter Nyah Molina said this year has been anything but easy.
“For us, right now it’s really hard because of COVID,” she said after racking up 17 assists and six kills against the Kowboys. “We seniors are having a really hard time. But right now it feels really good to finally get to where we are right now.”
Lake Nona, No. 2 behind Lyman in the Sentinel Super Six rankings, will travel again to face Tampa Plant (21-8) next Saturday.
The Lions won a test of wills against Osceola (16-7), which got good blocking from 5-foot-10 Kaitlyn Taylor and 6-footer Ahnika Johnston.
Lake Nona countered with a 6-2 offense powered by setters Jexsamarie Perez and Molina. Perez had 18 assists.
Highlanders happy: Lake Highland Prep stayed in contention to repeat its 2019 Class 4A championship by winning 25-11, 25-13, 25-17 on the road against Satellite (13-5).
Mya Wood had 14 kills and Kayden Green had 8 kills and 5 aces for the Highlanders (14-4). Karsyn Dickerson had 14 digs.
Lake Highland must hit the road again for a semifinal next Saturday against Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons (6-3).
Geneva advances: The Geneva School will make its fourth consecutive final-four appearance after posting a tight 25-11, 29-27, 22-25, 26-24 homecourt win against Lakeland Victory Christian (19-3) in Class 2A.
The Knights (14-4), state champs two years ago, will be home again next Saturday in a semifinal against St. John Paul II (12-7) of Tallahassee.
Olivia Kyle, a sophomore, led Geneva with 19 kills, 9 digs and 5 aces in the region final. Eloise Johnson, an eighth-grader, added 16 kills. Senior setter Fran Aguayo had 23 assists and sophomore Catherine White had 21 digs.
Lynn Ramsey contributed to this report with his coverage of the Lake Nona-Osceola match.
This article was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com
