By Dave Brousseau
FORT LAUDERDALE – The journey toward for a third consecutive Class 6A state girls’ volleyball championship just got a step closer for St. Thomas Aquinas.

Led by senior Emmi Merhi’s 14 kills and 14 digs, the Raiders cruised to a convincing 25-4, 25-3, 25-9 victory over Mater Academy in regional semifinal match on Saturday.

Aquinas (25-4), winners of 14 consecutive matches, advances to a regional final at home against West Boca (11-12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Raiders are 12-0 against West Boca dating back to 2007, outscoring the Bulls 32-3 in sets. Aquinas defeated West Boca 25-11, 25-16, 25-10 in a regional semifinal last year.

Aquinas was so dominated in the first two sets they recorded 17 consecutive points in the first set and 13 consecutive points in the second set.

“I thought we played very clean and didn’t have any unforced errors,” said Aquinas coach Lisa Zeilinski. “I thought we blocked very disciplined and defensively we had some great touches.”

Of the Raiders’ last 12 matches, they’ve lost only one set.

Senior Sydney Guerrier added 14 assists and five kills, while Leah Novatne had nine kills and Isabella Cabrera had seven kills and nine digs.

“Our practices are very competitive and when we get here, we put it all together and no one can beat us,” said Merhi. “We are unstoppable and are dominate. That’s the key when we perfect everything."

Hailey Trebbien assisted on 21 Raiders points and added four digs. Isabella Sangha, a senior commit to Notre Dame, didn’t play due to illness.

The Lions season ended at 13-5.

Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.