Three Pinellas County volleyball teams won district titles last week. All three did it in straight sets. One did it against the defending state champion.
Calvary Christian, St. Petersburg and Northside Christian now open the state playoffs this week.
Calvary Christian has the toughest road. The Warriors (27-1) are in the FHSAA’s new Open Division.
The Open Division starts this season. It pulls the eight best teams in the state into their own bracket, no matter their enrollment class. The FHSAA picks the eight using its power rankings, which MaxPreps computes, after district tournaments end. The teams split into two pools of four and play a round robin. The top two in each pool advance to the state semifinals at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
Calvary won the Class 3A state title last fall. The Open Division means it can’t defend it.
The Warriors are the No. 2 seed, behind Orlando’s Orangewood Christian. They are ranked 18th nationally by MaxPreps. Their pool includes No. 3 Plant, No. 6 Beachside and No. 7 First Baptist Academy of Naples. Pool play started Oct. 21.
Calvary rolled past Countryside 25-8, 25-11, 25-3 in the Class 3A, District 9 final on Oct. 16. Sophia Puleo had 19 kills, seven digs and four aces. Noelle Sarigumba had 34 assists, nine digs and four aces. Calvary served 13 aces as a team.
Countryside (14-11) made the playoffs, too. The Cougars are the No. 7 seed in Class 3A, Region 3 and played at No. 2 Cardinal Mooney on Oct. 20.
St. Petersburg beat Osceola 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 in its district final on Oct. 15. The Green Devils (16-6) have won six straight. That run includes a four-set win over East Lake for the Pinellas County Athletic Conference title.
Abigail Buffington had 15 kills. Reyne Szabla, the player of the match, had 14 kills, seven digs and five aces. Annika Xenakis had 40 assists and 14 digs.
St. Petersburg is the No. 1 seed in Class 4A, Region 3 and hosts No. 8 Lemon Bay on Oct. 21. Osceola (18-7) also got in as the No. 5 seed and plays at No. 4 Estero.
Northside Christian got payback. Tampa Prep swept the Mustangs in last year’s Class 2A playoffs on its way to the state title. This time Northside swept the Terrapins 25-22, 26-24, 25-17 in the 2A-8 district final on Oct. 15.
Aaliyah Cancellari had 16 kills. Freshman Brinley Temperton had 26 assists. Candice Holloway had nine kills, eight digs and two solo blocks. Northside had 12 blocks as a team.
The Mustangs (23-5) have won three straight. One of their losses came against Calvary, 3-0, on Sept. 15.
Northside is the No. 1 seed in Class 2A, Region2 and hosted Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy on Oct. 20.