The St. Thomas Aquinas girls volleyball team captured the FHSAA Class 6A state championship for the second consecutive year as the Raiders won in dramatic fashion in a thriller against Gulf Breeze in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 21-25, 16-14) at Polk State College in Winter Haven on Saturday. St.
Thomas Aquinas won its eighth state title in school history. The Raiders won the state championship in four sets against Viera last year. The Raiders were locked in an 8-8 tie in the fifth set before scoring two points to jump ahead 10-8.
The Raiders led 14-13, but the Dolphins (30-2) responded to tie the score. The Raiders took the lead after a service error and scored the final point on a kill. St.
Thomas Aquinas (22-7) won 11 consecutive matches entering the state championship and had swept opponents in three sets in six straight matches. The Raiders rolled by Sunlake (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) in the state semifinal. The Raiders also cruised to victories in straight sets against Braddock in the regional quarterfinal, West Boca Raton in the regional semifinal and South Plantation in the regional final.
The teams were locked in a 14-14 tie in the first set before the Raiders scored three straight to force the Dolphins to call timeout. The Dolphins trailed 23-20 and had a 3-0 run to tie the score. The Raiders bounced back with the final two points to win the set.
St. Thomas Aquinas trailed 15-14 in the second set and responded with four consecutive points. Gulf Breeze answered back wi.