For the Osceola Kowboys girls volleyball team, and long-time head coach Carrie Palmi, the quest for an elusive Class 7A state championship has so far been a never-ending odyssey.
Near misses and being oh-so-close have defined a team that has gotten as far as the state semifinals in two of the past three years, highlighted by last year’s 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22 loss to Winter Park, which won its fifth FHSAA championship.
After a convincing win over Hagerty in straight sets (25-13, 25-21, 25-17) on Thursday, Osceola (15-3) showed it is on a mission to again chase the title.
“We are definitely craving it. We’re hungry,” said Palmi.
Palmi’s daughter, Cate, an All-Area player as a freshman, sophomore and junior, set the tone for Osceola with 20 kills and 7 digs to lead an attack that proved to be overwhelming at points.
Senior Jordin Southall, a Vanderbilt commit, added 10 kills and 8 digs and earned four straight points with her serving in the early stages of the first set. Osceola finished that game with the final five points.
Priscilla Rada, a transfer Libero from Southland Christian, added 18 digs and 3 ace serves. Sophie Spivey added 8 kills and 3 blocks.
Osceola is on a 10-match win streak and has lost only one game outside of tournament settings this season — to perennial power Tampa Plant during the Kowboys’ 3-1 victory on September 13.
With less than three weeks left in the regular season, Osceola still has one big match left on the calendar, and it is one that they have been eyeing the whole season – a rematch against Winter Park on October 7 that promises to be a playoff preview. For now, the focus is on finding ways to get better.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of conditioning, just to get ready for those (long) matches,” said Palmi. “We’re going to be messing with rotations a bit to see what combinations can work against other teams, speeding up our offense just a little bit and continuing to be aggressive with the serve.”
For Hagerty (14-3), which saw its eight-match win streak snapped, the loss is a setback in a season that has been defined by long travel and a lingering sense of redemption from last year’s uncharacteristic 14-10 season. The Huskies, also 7A, opened their season with a 5-0 performance in a tournament in Puerto Rico and also traveled to Jacksonville to score five wins.
The key to maintaining a strong start has been the amount of experience the Huskies have with nine seniors leading the squad.
Hagerty vs. Osceola volleyball state semifinal has college teammate coaches
“This is one of the closest groups I have been part of, and being able to take a tournament at the very beginning of the season was ideal for us. It helped us bond quite fast,” said Hagerty head coach Juanita Hitt.
Hagerty managed to gain some ground back at the end of the second set to put pressure on Osceola but fell just short. Still, that tenacity was a spark that the Huskies will look to continue going forward with their remaining matches that include an Oct. 2 home game against backyard rival Oviedo (10-4) and an Oct. 9 test against small-school power Orangewood Christian (10-3).
“When you play teams that are good, like Osceola and Winter Park, you can’t make those unforced errors because they are going to capitalize on those,” said Hitt. “That’s one thing we need to get better at.”
Hagerty won a state title in 2019 under Hitt.
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
