Defending Girls Volleyball Champion Aquinas Ready For Tough Season

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New season, new team, new faces. Well, sort of.

Two-time defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas girls' volleyball team opens the 2016 season with a huge bull's eye on its' back.

"We wouldn't want it any other way," said All-American 6-foot outside hitter and Pepperdine commit Brook Bauer. "It's what we like. We like tough games. We don't want anything given to us."

The Raiders lost five seniors off last year's team including two starters but return a wealth of talent under Hall of Fame and veteran coach Lisa Zielinski.

"We are excited about a whole new season and team," Bauer said. "It's going to be really fun."

Last season St. Thomas Aquinas won its' fourth state title overall and joined Cardinal Gibbons and Pine Crest as the only Broward schools to win at least two consecutive state volleyball championships. The Raiders finished 31-2 and ranked in the Top 60 nationally by Prepvolleyball.com.

In the preseason poll, St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked fourth in the southeast U.S. region. At the Spanish River Pre-season Tournament, the Raiders defeated West Boca Raton, 25-7, 19-25, 15-9 and Spanish River, 25-17, 25-8.

"The expectations of winning another state title are there because we have so many kids returning," Zielinski said. "Every season is a different season. We are a different team this year and we are playing teams this year that are different teams.

"We do have new kids and that factors in. What will practice be like with 6-on-6 drills? Can we still push ourselves? We have different leaders. We do start over again. We are not comfortable or think we don't have to work hard. We have our goals and now we have to figure out how to accomplish them. You never have the exact same team ever."

The Raiders are coming off boot camp and pre-season conditioning. Bauer, already in mid-season shape, is coming off an outstanding summer of beach volleyball with partners Madison Fitzpatrick and Marielle Diaz.

Bauer trained throughout the summer when she wasn't competing. She played the AVP New Orleans Tournament where she and Fitzpatrick were the third youngest team ever to qualify for the main draw that featured Olympic gold medalist Misty May. The pair finished ninth.

Bauer resumed training in Florida with beach volleyball coaches Steve Grotowski, a 2012 British Olympian, and Kendra Van Zwieten, who won the AVP New Orleans event. Bauer competed in California in four tournaments over three weeks. She qualified for the Girls' 18-and-under Pan Pacific Championship in Maui and Best of the Beach. She also finished third at nationals and High Performance Championships. She finished second in the AAU Junior Olympics and returned to Fort Lauderdale to win the AAU Tour Championships.

"It was a fun summer," Bauer said. "I had a few days off to rest and now I am ready for the season. It's super bittersweet being a senior. I know I have to take up the leadership with the other seniors. I love St. Thomas, our facility, our spirit and our team. I am going to miss it all so much."

The Raiders will use every game as a build-up to the postseason. They will get an early preview of their team at the Sept. 15-17 Durango Classic in Las Vegas. The national-caliber tournament attracts some of the best teams in the U.S.

"We have definitely raised the bar, upped the ante," Zielinski said. "Our practice, drills and execution are at another level. They have been working hard and been very focused in practice.

"I am excited and sad about the season," Zielinski said. "I don't want to lose my seniors. I have such great kids. I am really looking forward to the season. Obviously, they are going to have a lot of fun.

"We went for quality with that Las Vegas tournament," Zielinski said. "We wanted to see the competition in another part of the country. Playing the west coast teams will help us and get us better for the second half of the season. It will give me a chance to evaluate the team early. Playing the strongest schedule is how you are going to get better."

Defending 4A state champion Cardinal Gibbons will also be tested early at the Sept. 16-17 Berkeley Premier, a 24-team national tournament hosted by Tampa Berkeley Prep for the past 14 years.

The Chiefs graduated 10 seniors off last year's 25-7 team and will be rebuilding. But even when the Chiefs are rebuilding under coach Kathryn Reeber, they are good. It was the Chiefs' first state title in volleyball since 2010 and second for Reeber.

BROWARD GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

ATHLETES TO WATCH
Ariana Altieri, Pine Crest, Sr.; Lauren Bandera, Archbishop McCarthy, Jr.; Brook Bauer, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sr.; Jenna Boland, Westminster Academy, Sr.; Jamie Boros, Westminster Academy, Jr.; Kylie Bruder, Pine Crest, Sr.; Sienna Ciudad-Real, Douglas, Sr.; Kirstin Colwell, Monarch, Sr.; Derry Costigan, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jr.; Nicole Decker, Calvary Christian, Sr.; Marielle Diaz, Calvary Christian, Sr.; Emma Dixon, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sr.; Marcie Evans, Cardinal Gibbons, Sr.; Danielle Franzosa, Chaminade-Madonna, Jr.; Jada Gardner, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jr.; Jordan Kron, Cypress Bay, Sr.; Rebecca Lope, Cypress Bay, Sr.; Allison Marble, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sr.; Kelsey O'Laughlin, St. Thomas Aquinas, So.; Kayla Schmitz, Monarch, Sr.; Colleen Siebold, Cypress Bay, Jr.; Daniella Tovar, Western, Sr.; Jessie Underwood, Calvary Christian, Sr.

DEFENDING STATE CHAMPIONS
Class 8A: Winter Springs

Class 7A: St. Thomas Aquinas

Class 6A: Jensen Beach

Class 5A: Bishop Moore

Class 4A: Cardinal Gibbons

Class 3A: P.K. Yonge

Class 2A: Lake Worth Christian

Class 1A: Sneads

KEY DATES
Aug. 22, Regular season opens.

Aug. 23, St. Thomas Aquinas at Calvary Christian, 6 p.m.

Aug. 30, Cardinal Gibbons at Calvary Christian, 6 p.m.

Sept. 1, Pine Crest at Archbishop McCarthy, 6 p.m.

Sept. 7, Cardinal Gibbons at St. Thomas Aquinas, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 15-17, Durango Classic, Las Vegas

Sept. 16-17, Berkeley Premier

Sept. 22, Cardinal Gibbons at Jensen Beach

Sept. 23-24, Monarch Tournament

Sept 23-24, Chaminade-Madonna Cares Tournament

Oct. 3-5, BCAA Big 8 Tournament at Cardinal Gibbons

Oct. 7-8, Palm Beach Classic

Oct. 10, St. Thomas Aquinas at Pine Crest, 6 p.m.

Oct. 11, Ransom Everglades at St. Thomas Aquinas

Oct. 14-15, Smoothie King Tournament Invite, Ransom Everglades

Oct. 17-21, District tournaments

Oct. 25-Nov. 1, Region tournaments

Nov. 5, State semifinals

Nov. 11-12, State tournament