Vanguard volleyball moves on, sweeps Freedom 3-0 in Region 5A-2 quarterfinal

Vanguard’s Sophie Reed (28) and Emma Ehmann (9) celebrate a point on Freedom during the regional quarterfinal at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Vanguard won the match in straight sets. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted October 27, 2021 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

Vanguard made it look easy through the first two sets of Wednesday night’s Class 5A regional quarterfinal match against the visiting Freedom Patriots on Oct. 27. It was set three that nearly tripped the Lady Knights up.

When Freedom took their first lead of the match midway through the third set and was seemingly poised to extend the match, Vanguard successfully recovered its rhythm just in time.

The No. 2 seed Knights pulled back into the lead to close out the regional quarterfinal in three-straight sets, defeating No. 7 seed Freedom 25-5, 25-8 and 25-18, punching their ticket to the Region 5A-2 semifinals.

Vanguard will host No. 3 seed Gateway on Nov. 3.

Head coach Luis Perez said after the game that his team is finally fully healthy and peaking at the perfect moment of the season, when every win really counts.

“They came out strong,” said Perez of his Vanguard team Wednesday night. “Our [overall] record tells a different story of this team than they showed out on the court today. We had a really hard schedule and we had a lot of girls get hurt this season. But now, everybody is healthy, everybody is dialed-in—and you can see the difference.”

The Knights finished the 2021 regular season with an overall record of 8-17. They have won all three of their last three matches, including a District 5A-5 title.

“They’re supporting each other and really coming together,” Perez added.

Vanguard opened the first set by scoring the initial five points with ease. Sophie Reed served an ace, while teammate Emma Ehmann pounded down two kills. Freedom made two errors.

From there it was a Knights’ tag team at the baseline. Ehmann had six additional kills. Reed and freshman Lilli Hart had three kills apiece.

Freedom would only score one kill of its own in the first set (junior Dahlia Palacios scored the Patriots’ first point). The rest of its first-set points came from gifts the Knights gave on faults and errors.

Ultimately, Vanguard took the first set 25-5.

Set two was nearly a mirror image of set one as far as effort and the end result are concerned. Reed would have two aces and two kills, respectively. Ehmann stood tall once again with six kills.

Junior Ruby Owen would step out in a big way in the second set, making a huge impact in the game. She notched six kills of her own behind Aria Eisel’s serve early in the set, putting the Knights up 12-2 before the Patriots knew what hit them.

Vanguard won the second set from there with ease, 25-8.

But the third set would be a different story entirely. Freedom scored the first two points off errors made by the Knights, who would recover, scoring the next eight points.

The Patriots would next have their best point series in the quarterfinal behind Olivia Pliska at the service line. Pliska and the Patriots would force Vanguard into making four costly errors—one point coming on a particularly long rally that seemed to break the Knights’ spirit for a moment when they knocked the ball out of bounds on close to the 30^th reception between both squads.

Freedom would lead by one point for one service point before Vanguard would regain its composure and the lead, pulling away with the match before long.

The Knights battled back to win the third set 25-18, advancing to the next round of the state playoffs.

Next week’s regional semifinal match will begin at 7 p.m.