In July, the St. Petersburg Catholic volleyball team lost five matches before it played one. In September, it lost its gym.
The Barons kept winning anyway.
St. Petersburg Catholic has 13 wins, its most since 2015, coach Ashley Martin said. Last season it won seven.
“This team has shown an incredible amount of resilience this season,” Martin said. “Our girls have had to learn how to adapt, stay together and focus on what they can control.”
The trouble started in the summer. Pinellas County Schools Athletic Director Marc Allison barred the district’s public high schools from signing new contracts with St. Petersburg Catholic in any sport for 2026-27. It was the first time the district had moved to freeze out a private school.
Games already under contract stood. Everything else was scrapped, including five volleyball matches against county public schools. Martin rebuilt the schedule on the fly.
Then lightning struck.
On Sept. 8, a three-alarm fire tore through Walsh Field House. The junior varsity was practicing inside when the bolt hit. Everyone got out. The roof, the floor and the sound system were heavily damaged.
Volleyball is the only sport using the gym this fall. Overnight, the Barons were homeless.
OTVA Clearwater, a club volleyball program, opened its doors to the junior varsity and varsity for practice.
“Having a place to practice gave our girls some much-needed consistency during a season that has been anything but consistent,” Martin said.
Eckerd College stepped in, too. In 2024, after hurricanes Helene and Milton forced the Tritons out of their gym, St. Petersburg Catholic took them in. This time the college returned the favor.
The Barons held senior night at Eckerd on Sept. 14 and beat Northeast 3-1 in a match signed before the ban. They also beat Sickles in five sets there. Martin said the players “absolutely loved the experience.”
Senior captain Phoebe Ermatinger, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker, has been “the leading force by far,” Martin said.
Junior Claire Althoff has emerged as a leader. She sets in the team’s 6-2 offense, which uses two setters, so she also attacks when she rotates to the front row. She leads the team in aces, Martin said.
The gym is on the mend. Repairs are moving quickly, St. Petersburg Catholic President Ross Bubolz said, and the boys and girls basketball teams should play most of their seasons there.
Bubolz said he was impressed with how Martin and her players fought through it all.
“They’ve shown that adversity doesn’t have to define you,” Martin said. “It can challenge you, bring you closer together and ultimately make you stronger.”
Quick hits
Gulliver ends Calvary’s 44-match winning streak
Calvary Christian’s volleyball team had not lost in 44 matches. Gulliver Prep ended that.
The Miami school beat the Warriors in three sets Oct. 3 at the Swing for a Cure tournament in Orlando. It was Calvary’s first loss of the season and its first to a Florida team since 2024.
The defending state champions had not lost since Aug. 30, 2025, when they fell to Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio. They won their last 22 matches last season and their first 22 this season.
The loss came at the end of a long day. Calvary swept Horizon and Winter Park before running into Gulliver.
The Warriors did not stay down long. They swept George Jenkins on Oct. 6 to improve to 23-1.
Calvary, which opened the season ranked 24th nationally by MaxPreps, finished its regular season on Oct. 8.
Delancy brings Montverde home
Oneal Delancy came home, and he brought one of the best high school basketball teams in the country with him.
The former Gibbs standout returned to St. Petersburg with Montverde Academy for a preseason retreat. The nationally ranked Eagles did community work, spent time at Gibbs and squared off in a game of tug-of-war on the beach.
Delancy, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, helped Gibbs win the Class 4A state title as a freshman in 2024. The Gladiators returned to the state final the next year.
He transferred to Montverde last summer and averaged 13.9 points as a junior.
In July, Delancy committed to Houston over Florida, Florida State, Maryland and Ohio State. The four-star recruit is ranked 40th nationally in the 2027 class by ESPN.