Oxbridge Academy followed its first district championship in girls volleyball last week with its first regional tournament win.
Riley Nieporte had 15 kills and seven aces, and Addy Aitken added nine kills and 20 service points to lead the ThunderWolves to a 25-7, 25-7, 25-7 sweep of Clewiston Wednesday in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal match.
Oxbridge junior Lindsey Love (17) sets the ball during Wednesday’s match against Clewiston in West Palm Beach. Oxbridge won 25-7, 25-7, 25-7. (Brianna Soukup/The Palm Beach Post)
With the win, Oxbridge (15-7) moves on to Saturday’s regional semifinal round against King’s Academy. The Tigers finished the season 8-10.
“It’s huge,” ThunderWolves coach Katie George said of Wednesday’s win. “We talked at practice yesterday about how exciting it was to get to another round, and now the excitement of getting to play again on Halloween is so exciting for these girls. The whole school is behind us.”
Oxbridge dominated from the outset of the match, and trailed just once – at 4-2 in the first set.
Led by Aitken, a sophomore outside hitter, and Nieporte, a junior outside hitter, the ThunderWolves went on a 10-2 run early in the first set to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 12-6 advantage.
Oxbridge coasted the rest of the way, and closed the first set with a 13-0 run, all on Aitken’s serve.
The ThunderWolves jumped out early in the second set. Taking advantage of several Clewiston turnovers and riding the strong outside play of Nieporte and Aitken, Oxbridge strung together a pair of long runs and took the second set, 25-7.
Oxbridge continued to cruise in the third set. Switching players in and out, the ThunderWolves opened the set on a 3-0 run and closed it with a Nieporte kill, her 15th of the match.
Nieporte is 15 kills shy of breaking the school-record of 315 she set last season.
“Riley Nieporte is on fire, and she’s just doing a phenomenal job,” George said. “They’re feeding off of her, and continuing the success.”
Maddie Weber added seven digs for Oxbridge.
Class 4A
Cardinal Gibbons d. St. Andrews 25-18, 25-18, 25-20: Kate Haeffner had 17 kills and Erin Walsh added 30 assists and seven digs, but the Scots (15-4) fell to the Chiefs in the regional quarterfinals.
Class 8A
Spanish River d. Wellington 15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 14-25, 15-12: Julia Schner had 16 kills, seven blocks, and three digs while Megan Yaffa added 12 kills, 14 digs, and two blocks as the Sharks (15-3) outlasted the Wolverines.
Jupiter d. Boca Raton 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18: Julia Lindley had 15 kills as the Warriors (21-7) rallied to defeat the Bobcats in Boca Raton. Jupiter will play Spanish River in the regional semifinals on Saturday.
Class 2A
Lake Worth Christian d. Pine School 25-10, 25-23, 25-8: Madeline Anderson had 10 kills and 13 assists while Hannah Tannone added 18 service points and 12 digs as the Defenders (24-4) dominated the Knights.
