LAND O’ LAKES — Alyssa Booth is a big sister roughly 10 times over — not at home, but on the court. As the lone senior on Angeline Academy of Innovation’s up-and-coming volleyball team, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I embrace it,” the outside hitter said of being the leader and voice of the team. “The girls, they’re like my little siblings and my little sisters. They come to me for things, and I go to them for little bits and pieces. But I’ve coached myself personally, so my job is to make sure that when I’m gone, they still have that know how to go up and play.”
Before her sophomore year, Booth left Hudson to join the Archers volleyball team, hoping to build something in the team’s first full season. In 2024, Angeline Academy had just one win, but the team improved in 2025, picking up five wins, with Booth leading the team in kills (155) and aces (40) while earning all-conference honors.
“We knew that we would have to build it (the program) and get more players and might not be very successful even then,” Booth said. “I could have transferred (back) to Hudson, but I stayed here solely for academics, and then I was like, ‘Why not?’ If I’m here and I have the opportunity, why not make my own team, my own laying the foundation more for the future.
“These girls,” she added, “they’re more dedicated than last year and because some of them have gone to (club volleyball), they’ve seen the levels that they will face on the better teams. So, they want it a little bit more, and that’s definitely gonna help push them.
“They’re hungry for wins.”
This year, her father, Anthony Booth, took over as coach. Through Aug. 27, the team has already matched last season’s win total by sweeping Wendell Krinn (in the school’s first year of athletics), Zephyrhills, Fivay, Anclote and Classical Prep.
The Archers’ lone loss was in five sets to Bell Creek Academy on Aug. 19.
Booth is leading the way as the senior captain with 27 kills, 12 aces, 7 blocks and 18 digs. But she’s getting help.
Sophomore Meredith Winn has 23 kills and 16 aces, and fellow sophomore Sadie Magee has 38 digs and 18 kills.
Alyssa recruited much of that talent herself, pulling athletes from other sports who took to volleyball and went on to play club. The rest came from practice reps and time, she said.
“I think it’s gonna be fun,” she said of the season. “They also stay longer at practice, but it’s work, and that’s what we’re all about — 100% effort.”
Alyssa had opportunities to go elsewhere, said her father and coach, Anthony. The family discussed it at length. She chose the harder path because she wanted to build something with this group.
“She knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” he said, “but she wanted the challenge.”
What he didn’t expect, he said, was how much she’d grow alongside the team.
Her father hopes she leaves a mark, whether that’s a Division II or III offer or the program’s strongest season yet. Senior night, he admitted, will be bittersweet. But he’s expecting growth, more wins and harder hitting from a roster he calls the most talented he’s had.
“What everyone is going to see is more effort on the floor overall,” Alyssa said. “I think we’re going to be more competitive, which will give us more wins. And as the senior and their big sister, that’s what I hope to give this team.”
Land O’ Lakes
Last season: 18-8
Coach: Emily Frazer (fourth season)
Outlook: The Gators graduated eight seniors, including Mya Smith (team-high 170 kills, 38 blocks) and Amelia Colon (team-high 343 digs). But they return three of their top four hitters: sophomore Lia Mitchell (125 kills) and seniors Courtney Tielli (116) and Kaylee Prcic (110). Tielli and Prcic are in line to serve as captains, and sophomore outside hitter Livia Maita steps into a leadership role of her own, with more expected from her in the back row. Junior Alaina Girard is listed at libero, and senior defensive specialists Alexandria Sowles and Julia Sankowski add depth. Replacing Smith’s blocking will be a question — she and Tielli led the team with 38 and 32, respectively.
The Gators also land in a realigned and larger Class 5A-District 9 that includes Mitchell (20-7), Cypress Creek (11-9), East Lake (26-4), Springstead (16-10), Wesley Chapel (8-17) and Wharton (10-10). Also in the district is crosstown rival Sunlake (22-8), which has reached the state tournament in back-to-back seasons behind senior Syracuse commit Amelia Snider, arguably the county’s top hitter with 931 career kills, including 377 last season.