Boys volleyball playoffs: King's Academy gets revenge on Park Vista for state breakthrough
WEST PALM BEACH — King’s Academy boys volleyball earned a region championship crown over Park Vista on Tuesday night, sweeping the Cobras 25-21, 25-15, 25-18.
The No. 1 seed Lions (25-1) went into the championship match after sweeping every opponent leading up to Tuesday, including the likes of eight-seed Trinity Christian and fourth-seed Dwyer.
The young program found rapid success in the two years it has been up and running. Last season, the Lions made it to the regional semifinal where they lost to Park Vista 3-1, and Tuesday night they got their revenge on the second-seed Cobras (23-7) with style.
Head coach Christy Lee Taylor was emotional when speaking about their tremendous victory and record-breaking season.
“For them to accomplish this in our second year, they have blown my mind every day. They love each other and they love this team so much. They play for each other, they play for the Lord, and that is what makes this team so great.”
Senior setter and outside hitter Logan Taylor had a game-high 13 kills, 10 assists and two blocks, committing crucial blocks and kills in the third set.“This win is huge to us,” Taylor said. “We’re a second-year program, and for us to get a group of guys to come out here and play the way we did this season and go to states is phenomenal. But coming from a second-year program, what we did this year is almost unheard of.”
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Lions' junior setter and right-side-hitter Micah Tumas assisted 13 times and contributed four kills. He talked about the chemistry they had on the court and how it helped their play.
“This is my favorite team I’ve been I love these guys to death. I feel like we have really good chemistry on and off the court and it was a great win since this was the team that knocked us out of regionals last season," Tumas said. "So, it feels good to come back, beat them and go to states.”
Despite the Cobras' loss away from home, head coach Erica Green reflected on a successful season and the uprising of young players.
“How it worked tonight, it didn’t really go our way," Green said. "During the season I think we did exceptionally well. We went into this season without a setter and didn’t know how our offense is going to run.”
“Our sophomore, Dylan (Guillenea), really stepped up this season and improved tremendously. We have a lot of young talent and they really stepped up and they are developing, but Park Vista has a great reputation for volleyball, and I think that reputation will continue on.”
The Lions are headed to states, and they rate their chances high to “stay consistent” and continue to work hard as a unit.
“It's going to be a team effort. I think we have a really good shot,” said Taylor. “One big thing is we have to make sure we're consistent on our serves. Because we have three kids that topspin really aggressively, and if all three of us are on (the court) it's going to be really hard for other teams to stay in the system. So, I think that's going to be a big factor going into the state tournament.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: King's Academy boys volleyball gets revenge on Park Vista to reach state
