We Speak Volleyball

Doral Academy Sweeps Miami Palmetto 3-0 to Win Region 4 Title

Published

52 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

The Doral Academy volleyball team poses with the Region 4 championship trophy.

Photo courtesy of Doral Academy Volleyball.

Doral Academy left no doubt on Wednesday night. The Firebirds swept Miami Palmetto 3-0 to win the Class 6A Region 4 championship, taking the sets 25-15, 25-16 and 25-14 on their home court.

Doral controlled the match from the first serve. Palmetto never scored more than 16 points in any set, as the Firebirds built early leads and closed out each set without a late scare. The first set ended 25-15. The second set followed the same pattern at 25-16. In the third, Doral shut the door 25-14 to finish the sweep and lift the regional trophy in front of the home crowd.

The balance showed in the box score. As a team, Doral finished with 33 kills, 33 assists, 11 aces, seven blocks and 18 digs. Every one of those 33 kills came with an assist attached, a sign of an offense running in complete rhythm from the first set to the last. Lobaina led the attack with eight kills while hitting .438 on the night. Frometa owned the net with four blocks and added four kills of her own.

When the final point landed, the Firebirds celebrated with the regional trophy on their home floor, posing for the team photo that marks the biggest win of their season.

The two finalists arrived with nearly identical credentials. Doral entered the night at 21-6, and Palmetto entered at 21-5 with a season that had the Panthers in position to reach the state semifinals themselves. Instead, the night belonged to the home team from start to finish.

The regional title moved Doral to 22-6 on the season. Miami Palmetto ended its year at 21-6.

Doral now turns to the biggest match of its season. The Firebirds face DeLand in the Class 6A state semifinal on November 6, with a place in the state championship match on the line.

We Speak Volleyball

Newbury Park Survives Thousand Oaks in Five Sets to Reach the Division 3 Semifinals

Published

1 minute ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

Newbury Park players celebrate during the Division 3 quarterfinal against Thousand Oaks.

Photo courtesy of Newbury Park Athletics.

A crosstown rivalry got one more postseason chapter on Wednesday night, and it needed all five sets. Host Newbury Park held off Thousand Oaks 3-2 in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinal, winning 25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 22-25 and 15-6 to reach the semifinals.

Newbury Park controlled the first two sets behind strong serving that kept the Lancers out of system. Thousand Oaks refused to fold. The Lancers took the third set, then won the fourth on a set point ace from junior Sam Caenepeel to force a fifth.

The Panthers owned the deciding set. Laney Knopp drilled five kills with an ace in the fifth, and setter Keira Overbeck served a pair of clutch aces as Newbury Park pulled away 15-6. Charley Knupp put down the final kill of the night, off an Overbeck back set, to end it.

Knopp finished with a match high 24 kills. Knupp added 17 and sophomore Emmery Reynolds 15, as the Panthers’ three pin hitters combined for 56 kills. Thousand Oaks was led by Halle Bryce with 17 kills and 12 digs and Saylor Halvorsen with 12 kills and 13 digs.

The match was the final one of Thousand Oaks head coach James Park’s career; he had announced before the season that he would retire at the end of it. Newbury Park, coached by Chris Forrest, improved to 33-9 and moved on to play Valley Christian in the Division 3 semifinals in Cerritos on Saturday, October 31.