St. John Lutheran reaches state volleyball final four

St. John Lutheran’s coach Brad Ewers works with his players on the bench as they lose to St. Johns Country Day School during the Region 2A quarter final at St. John Lutheran High School in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. St. John Lutheran lost the regional quarter final to St. Johns Country Day School 3 sets to 1. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

The St. John Lutheran volleyball team made short work of Harvest Community in Tuesday night’s Class 1A-Region 1 championship match by scores of 25-25, 25-11 and 25-14.

The dominating victory was the ninth in a row for the Saints, who improved to an impressive 18-6 on the season. The win sends St. John Lutheran to the FHSAA state volleyball Final Four.

St. John Lutheran, which has six seniors on its veteran squad, was paced by the senior trio of Sophia Ochoa, Kinsey Wood and Payton Nazzari. Ochoa, who holds the school record for career kills, was a force from her outside hitter position, while Wood had a season-high 21 assists and Nazzari had 18 digs in the Saints win over Harvest Community. The Warriors finished the season with a record of 19-9.

“I’m just really excited for our team, especially our seniors who have been to the regional finals the last three years,” said St. John Lutheran coach Brad Ewers. “To finally win the regional finals to get into the final four and to see their reaction was fantastic.”

Other seniors on the talented Saints’ squad are outside hitter Rylee Palmateer, Isabelle Baluyot and Ashley Downs.

St. John Lutheran won the Class 1A-District 4 championship against Meadowbrook Academy and then cruised through the first three rounds of the postseason with convincing victories. The Saints swept St. John Paul II (Tallahassee) in the regional quarterfinals, knocked off St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) in the regional semifinals before dispatching Harvest Community (Jacksonville) for the regional title and a berth in state Final Four.

The difference for St. John Lutheran this year was the experience gained over the last three years and the overall depth of the squad this season.

“Our seniors grew and matured and as a team we improved and continued to get better and better,” coach Ewers said. “I’m happy where our team is at and we’re going to be going against a real good team in the semifinals.”

St. John Lutheran, which is making its first trip to the Final Four under the guidance of coach Ewers, is set to take on Seacrest Country Day High School on Monday afternoon in a state semifinal. The Final Four is being held at Polk State College in Winter Haven.

Seacrest Country Day (Naples) is ranked No. 2 in the FHSAA Class 1A state rankings. The Sting Rays are now in Class 1A, but they won the Class 2A state championship the last three years. St. John Lutheran is the third-ranked team in the state. The Saints did not play the Sting Rays during the regular season.