Every Orlando area No. 1 seed captured girls volleyball district tournament titles last week — with one exception.
International Community School went into the Class 1A District 6 tournament ranked No. 2 behind Geneva School. But the Comets (18-8) had every reason to believe they could pull off a tourney-final win at Geneva (21-5) and did just that on Thursday night in decisive fashion.
“We never felt like we were the underdogs,” International’s third-year coach Kevin Reiz said a day after that victory. “We had beaten them in the regular season in a very close match [3-2]. That gave us confidence.”
The Comets won 25-17, 25-14, 25-19 on Thursday.
“It was a packed house and the atmosphere was amazing,” said Reiz, who was junior on Winter Park’s 2014 boys basketball state championship team.
Ella Jane DeLoach, an eighth-grader, had 14 kills and 11 digs in the win. She was moved up from the junior varsity late in the 2024 season and made an immediate impact as ICS won a volleyball district for the first time.
Seniors Evelyn Hamer (31 assists, 11 digs), Lilly Kirby (9 kills) and Kate Mikesell (13 digs, 6 ace serves, 6 kills) also delivered in Thursday’s victory.
“They really showed out with their leadership,” Reiz said. “They kept everybody relaxed and calm and still had that tenacity to win.”
The victory wasn’t enough to move ICS past Geneva in FHSAA power rankings, which were updated Saturday and used to determine seeding for regional play. The Comets are a third seed, which means they will travel if they face No. 2 Brevard HEAT in the semifinal round and top seed Geneva in the final.
Region quarterfinals involving 1A, 2A and 3A teams are set for Tuesday, followed by Wednesday matches for 4A through 7A brackets.
Winter Park (26-1), the Class 7A title team a year ago, is on a 20-match winning streak and has topped the large-class rankings all season.
Osceola (23-4) is ranked No. 2 in 7A behind the Wildcats. They can’t meet until the state final.
Girls volleyball: Winter Park, Osceola, Orangewood are playoff favorites
Orangewood (23-4) is No. 1 in 2A with losses only to larger schools.
Lake Highland (20-6), which joined Winter Park and Bishop Moore as state champions last season, is No. 2 in 3A.
Innovation (19-5) won the 5A Region 2 title to reach the final four less than three months after opening its doors last year. The Bulls are right back on track to repeat that feat.
Oviedo (20-6) is No. 3 in 6A but again has the misfortune of being in the same region as No. 1 Gulf Breeze (24-3).
Better seeds host region matches. The exception to that rule rewards district champions with first-round home matches if they face a better ranked team that was not a district winner. That stipulation gave district champs Horizon, Orlando Christian Prep and West Orange first-round home matches.
Winners advance to region semifinals for all classes on Saturday.
Here are the quarterfinal matchups.
Winter Park edges Orangewood in clash of FHSAA girls volleyball state title contenders
Class 7A Region 1
Mandarin (13-9) at No. 1 Winter Park (26-1)
No. 5 Boone (13-6) at No. 4 DeLand (17-9)
No. 6 Forest (15-10) at No. 3 Hagerty (18-5)
No. 7 Seminole (12-14) at No. 2 Lake Brantley (19-8)
Class 7A Region 2
No. 8 Harmony (12-11) at No. 1 Osceola (23-4)
No. 4 Vero Beach (19-5) at No. 5 West Orange (12-7)
No. 6 Lake Nona (14-12) at No. 3 Olympia (20-3)
No. 7 East Ridge (17-10) at No. 2 Jupiter (21-4)
Class 6A Region 1
No. 8 Lake Minneola (19-7) at No. 1 Gulf Breeze (24-3)
No. 4 Niceville (16-8) at No. 5 Horizon (22-5)
No. 6 Lake Howell (21-7) at No. 3 Buchholz (19-5)
No. 7 Pace (16-8) at No. 2 Oviedo (20-6)
Class 5A Region 2
No. 8 New Smyrna Beach (10-17) at No. 1 Innovation (19-5)
No. 5 Gateway (18-5) at No. 4 Legacy-Port St. Lucie (21-7)
No. 6 Jensen Beach (12-14) at No. 3 John Carroll (14-3)
No. 7 Lake Wales (13-13) at No. 2 Gainesville (17-8)
Class 4A Region 2
No. 8 Hernando (10-14) at No. 1 Merritt Island (25-2)
No. 4 Satellite (15-9) at No. 5 Weeki Wachi (16-11)
No. 6 Mount Dora (12-11) at No. 3 Bishop Moore (14-13)
No. 7 Titusville (12-10) at No. 2 Alachua Santa Fe (18-9)
Class 3A Region 2
No. 8 Taylor (18-9) at No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (20-6)
No. 4 Astronaut (20-7) at No. 5 Village (14-13)
No. 6 Newberry (19-8) at No. 3 McKeel (16-8)
No. 7 Keystone Heights (17-10) at No. 2 Montverde (17-5)
Class 2A Region 1
No. 8 Master’s Academy (14-10) at No. 1 Orangewood (23-4)
No. 5 Foundation (21-5) at No. 4 The First Academy (17-6)
No. 5 Trinity Christian-Jacksonville (19-8) at No. 4 Providence (15-5)
No. 7 Oak Hall (14-11) at No. 2 Trinity Catholic (14-10)
Class 1A Region 2
No. 8 First Baptist-Bunnell (15-10) at No. 1 Geneva (21-5)
No. 4 St. Edward’s (15-11) at No. 5 OCP (17-7)
No. 6 Mount Dora Christian (13-5) at No. 3 International (18-8)
No. 7 Lake Mary Prep (13-7) at No. 2 Brevard HEAT (20-5)
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
