CLEARWATER — Calvary Christian won the Class 3A volleyball title in November. The Warriors may not get a chance to defend it.
That isn’t a knock. It’s the point of the Open Division.
The Florida High School Athletic Association added the eight-team bracket this season. When district tournaments end, the top eight teams in the FHSAA power rankings, regardless of class, are pulled out of their classifications and split into two pools of four. The top two from each pool advance to a single-elimination final site. Everybody else plays for a class title.
Calvary is a likely pick. The Warriors went 31-1 last fall, swept Lake Highland Prep for the 3A championship and finished 13th in the MaxPreps national rankings, the highest of any team in Florida. They opened this season 24th.
Aug. 25 was the proof of concept. Calvary dropped the first set to Tampa Prep 25-18, then won 25-21, 25-20, 25-22. The Terrapins won the 2A title in November. Under the old format the two could not have met in the postseason no matter how good either got.
Tampa Prep served better, finishing with nine aces to Calvary’s three. It didn’t matter. The Warriors out-hit the Terrapins 57 kills to 37 and dug 84 balls to their 43.
Sophia Puleo had 22 of those kills and hit .328. The 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter had 27 kills at Alachua Santa Fe on Aug. 17 and 15 in a sweep of Sunlake on Aug. 20. Freshman middle hitter Koral Whitney had three blocks against the 2A champions and hit .500.
Freshman Lola Mogridge has been the other find, second on the team in kills and first in hitting percentage and serve receptions. Senior setter Noelle Sarigumba had 84 assists and 28 digs in the first two matches. Senior libero Olivia Badyna had 44 digs.
All of it with eight seniors gone, including Sam Karjala, a Florida Athletic Coaches Association district player of the year, three middle hitters and most of the back row.
The district will not tell coach Kim Whitney much. Calvary shares 3A District 9 with Countryside, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Lakewood, Gibbs, Boca Ciega, Anclote and Wendell Krinn.
The real tests are on the schedule. Matches against Merritt Island, the 4A runner-up, and First Baptist Academy of Naples, which lost the 2A final to Tampa Prep, closed out August. Berkeley Prep — which Calvary beat in last year’s region final — is on Sept. 3, Plant on Sept. 22, the Warriors’ own tournament Sept. 25-26 and the Swing for a Cure tournament in Orlando on Oct. 2-3.
The Warriors have won 25 in a row as of this past week, a streak that dates to last season. The last team to beat them was Cornerstone Christian of Texas, ranked eighth in the country at the time and the only blemish on a 31-1 season. The last Florida team to beat them was Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, in 2024.
Nobody in this state has beaten Calvary Christian in nearly two years. Now the state likely gets to put its best seven in a bracket with them.
Quick hits
Indian Rocks Christian starts fast
Indian Rocks Christian has opened 3-0, and none of it came easy.
The Eagles beat Academy of the Holy Names in five sets Aug. 18, won at Palm Harbor University in four on Aug. 20 and swept St. Petersburg Catholic on Aug. 24 to open Class 2A District 8 play. They have lost three sets in three matches.
The start matters because of how last season ended. Indian Rocks Christian reached the 2A region final and lost to Tampa Prep, which went on to win the state title.
The Eagles are doing it with nine players. Five are seniors, among them Michelle McKnight, Serena Kupsis and Brynn Farmer.
Stat leaders
Here are the Pinellas County statistical standouts in volleyball. The list was compiled from MaxPreps’ state leaderboard.
Kills
64 Sophia Puleo, Calvary Christian
48 Lola Mogridge, Calvary Christian
28 Maya Talley, Calvary Christian
28 Annabelle King, Largo
28 Danielle McGovern, Largo
24 Emma Clark, Largo
23 Claire Meloy, Largo
22 Madelyn Moog, East Lake
Assists
127 Noelle Sarigumba, Calvary Christian
102 Sayra Hasanbegovic, Largo
77 Annika Xenakis, St. Petersburg
58 Jo Jo Wheaton, East Lake
47 Jayla Gwalthney, Osceola
44 Anastasia Markovic, Seminole
43 Leila Bakken, Admiral Farragut
31 Leila Lee, Northeast
Digs
65 Lina Qandil, Largo
64 Rylie Costello, Admiral Farragut
63 Olivia Badyna, Calvary Christian
44 Noelle Sarigumba, Calvary Christian
41 Taylor Leide, Seminole
41 Danielle McGovern, Largo
40 Aydan Murphy, Dunedin
39 Sophia Puleo, Calvary Christian
38 Savannah Street, Seminole
35 Taylor Allcott, Calvary Christian
Aces
18 Leila Bakken, Admiral Farragut
16 Danielle McGovern, Largo
15 Emma Clark, Largo
12 Tula Morin, Admiral Farragut
9 Rylie Costello, Admiral Farragut
9 Lacy Hayes, East Lake
Blocks
14 Emma Schuck, Admiral Farragut
13 Lila Speights, Northeast
7 Sariah Olufemi, St. Petersburg
7 Mya Rue, Northeast