Stephens and Nute power Hagerty volleyball past Lake Brantley

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA – Brooke Stephens burned the Lake Brantley defense for a match-high 27 kills Wednesday, and the Hagerty Huskies outlasted the Patriots 26-28, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16 to win the Region 1-7A volleyball final.

Brielle Mullen amassed 45 assists for Hagerty (21-8, No. 6 in the FHSAA 7A rankings), which advanced to its first state semifinal since winning the 2019 Class 7A title. The sixth-ranked Huskies won their sixth match in a row.

“The key has been working hard and finishing and working together as a team,” Hagerty coach Juanita Hitt said.

If current rankings hold, the Huskies will travel to No. 5 Kissimmee Osceola on Saturday for the right to advance to the state finals on Nov. 12 at Polk State College in Winter Haven. Osceola beat Hagerty 2-0 in a Sept. 3 tournament. No. 1 Venice will face the Boca Raton-Doral Academy winner.

In other regionals, 7A No. 1 Venice dethroned defending 7A champion Tampa Plant 10-25, 25-22, 16-25, 26-24, 15-9 in Region 3. Osceola swept No. 21 Dr. Phillips 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 in the Region 2 final.

The Patriots (23-7) carried 7A’s No. 3 ranking. Lake Brantley also had in pocket a 3-2 victory at Hagerty on Oct. 3. However, they lost in their second consecutive region final trying to equal the school history of a 2020 7A state semifinal.

Hitt said the Huskies didn’t play well in their loss to the Patriots, but they played well Wednesday.

Mullen gave the Patriots the most problems. She followed up a 42- and 47-assist matches against Winter Park with her third 40-assist tally in four matches. She did so by setting to five different hitters, three of which had 10 kills or more. Jenness Orcutt had 11 kills while Nadya Nute added 10 kills.

Mullen said the Huskies’ serving added fuel to their offense

“We were trying to get them out of system every time, so we could get an easy ball back to run a good play,” Mullen said.

Stephens feasted on Mullen’s sets, tying a season-best 27 kills that she set on Sept. 15 against Oviedo.

She succeeded by getting kills in nearly every conceivable way. Eight of her kills either came off or through Lake Brantley blockers. She had four that went down the line. She even had three kills off tips.

“They had a huge block, and their defense was pretty good,” Stephens said. “So we had to mix the shots around a lot. Deep cross was working, and just really hitting around the block.”

Lake Brantley countered by switching Jordan Sigafoes and Sam Bowron at setter. Sigafoes tallied 18 assists, while Bowron had 13 assists.

Bowron also had a team-high 13 kills and added four blocks. Austin Knight had a team-high seven blocks. Amina N’Diaye added 11 kills for the Patriots.

Avery Demetree had 32 digs to lead the Patriots defense.

Hagerty won the test of wills between two tough-blocking teams. The Huskies tallied 14 blocks, led by Nute’s nine total blocks. She assisted on eight blocks and had a solo block. Jenness Orcutt added six block-assists, while Faith Walsh had four block-assists and a solo block.

“We were blocking line, blocking cross and watching the ball so we can get around it,” Nute said. “It definitely helps (having so many top blockers), knowing that there will be somebody there just in case I touch it or if I don’t fully block the ball.”

Hagerty’s defense was also led by libero Mayte Camacho’s 34 digs.

The teams battled to extra points in the first set. Lake Brantley won the first set when Knight and Bowron combined for a block and Sarah Gooch ended the set with a kill.

Hagerty won the other three sets by posting at least one big run in each set. After Gooch’s kill put the Patriots up 5-4 in the second set, Hagerty rattled off a 14-2 run to lead 18-7. Nute had two blocks in that run, while Stephens added two kills and an ace.

“(Stephens) was doing a really good job. We tried to match up with her with a better block,” Lake Brantley coach Allan Knight said. “She was getting around our block. They played amazing defense, and we didn’t have an answer for their amazing defense.”

Hagerty then went on a 10-2 run in the third to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 16-10 lead. Stephens had seven kills in that run. Lake Brantley’s 12-7 run then brought the Patriots within 23-22 capped with an N’Diaye ace. But Stephens ended the set with two kills.

Hagerty then dialed up the serve to close the match with a 13-3 run. Abby Mass had one of her match-high four aces for the Huskies in that run, Stephens had two kills and Faith Walsh had two blocks in that run. Orcutt ended the match with a kill.

Lake Brantley will return a young team that is losing seniors Demetree, Gooch and Lana Maluda. Those three seniors all played a role in the 2020 state semifinalist team.

“The seniors mean everything to this team,” Allan Knight said. “That’s the tough thing about tonight: We have to say goodbye to them, because they played such integral roles for the team. Replacing them will be a huge chore.”

Hagerty awaits their state semifinal foe. But Hitt said the Huskies will continue to build.

“We need to improve a little bit,” Hitt said. “We need to talk about serve-receive. Depending on who we play, we need to talk about match and block setups and getting everyone involved.”