VOLLEYBALL

High school volleyball: Defending 2A champ Lake Worth Christian advances to regional final

Alex Peterman
Special to The Post
Lake Worth Christian outside hitter Kelly Franklin digs the ball during Tuesday's regional semifinal win over Boca Raton Christian. Franklin had 19 kills, nine digs and three aces.

BOCA RATON — It’s a new household Franklin name for Lake Worth Christian volleyball. The Defenders put together a seamless team effort around outside hitter Kelly Franklin in Tuesday’s Class 2A-Region 4 semifinal win over host Boca Raton Christian (25-16, 27-25, 20-25, 25-21).     

Both teams were hot at different times, but it was Lake Worth Christian scoring when it counted the most, as the visitors opened play by winning the first two sets before quashing a Blazers rally.

Franklin, the younger sister of former Defenders star Sarah Franklin, led the Defenders with 19 kills, while adding nine digs and three aces. Teammate Lexi Jacobs notched five blocks and 10 kills, and Karly Horn tallied 16 digs and had three aces of her own.

Abigail Toeniskoetter, right, and Kelly Franklin. left, go airborne in attempt to block a spike attempt from Boca Christian's Grace VanZwieten, center.

With Sarah Franklin, now playing at Michigan State, leading the way last year, the Defenders won the Class 2A state championship. The Defenders are now one step closer to a repeat. 

“I think they kind of realized that it’s going to take a team to win, not one big player, not a whole bunch of kills, because you’ve still got to serve it,” Lake Worth Christian head coach Terri Kaiser said. “You’ve still got to pass. We did the little things, and that gave us big points at the right time.”

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Several of those big points came toward the end of the second set when the teams were locked in a 21-21 tie.

And then a 24-24 tie. 

Franklin came through with a crucial kill, and the Defenders were able to outplay the home team down the stretch for the 27-25 advantage. 

With Lake Worth Christian nursing a 1-0 match lead at the time, tying the game would have been huge for an energetic Blazers team. 

Ultimately, the Defenders made fewer errors and were able to capitalize on just enough misplays from the Blazers to retain momentum in an emotional set. 

“I think the biggest thing was the energy,” Defenders senior Parker Folino said. “You could tell at the start of the game, we were on fire. We had that energy. Eventually, they got their big hitter going and they tried to take that energy from us. So the main thing for us was just to stay calm, do the little things right, get that executed.”

Boca Raton Christian managed to fight back from the brink with a third set win, but Kaiser’s Defenders are no strangers to high-pressure moments — and they shined under the spotlight Tuesday.  

Folino said the team had been working on quicker sets in order to catch opposing teams off balance, and it helped the Defenders control the pace in the much of the fourth set.

Despite her own major contributions to the match, star hitter Franklin doused the team’s setters with praise. 

“Their impact was amazing,” Kelly Franklin said. “Their energy and their confidence to set each hitter, and what they’re doing was amazing. And when they make those smart plays, a hitter can do anything with the ball. The setters’ confidence was honestly running the game tonight.”

Lake Worth Christian freshman Sarah Montero, center, celebrates a point with her team during the third set of Tuesday's match between Lake Wirth Christian and Boca Raton Christian.

Boca Raton Christian head coach Len Visser said he knew the season could very well come down to a game versus Lake Worth Christian — last year the Blazers fell to the Defenders in the regional final — and although his squad was unable to win on Tuesday, it does not overshadow a successful season.

“This is all about them, and all of our girls were fighting for it,” he said. “They left it on the court, they played hard, and I’m super proud of them.”

While the Blazers will return most of their core next year, Lake Worth Christian moves onto the regional final and will host Miami-Westwood Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday.