By Dave Brousseau - BCAA Writer
POMPANO BEACH – In a snapshot of the past 10 seasons, the dominance of the St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ volleyball over team its BCAA opponents is staggering.
Not only did the Raiders cruise past Chaminade-Madonna 25-8, 25-20 in the championship match of the BCAA Big 8 Tournament on Tuesday at Pompano Beach High, they proved how unbeatable they nearly are.
Not only did Aquinas improve to 18-4 this season against mostly stiff competition, its 10-year run against all BCAA opponents improved to 107-1. Their victory over the Lions was the Raiders 27th BCAA Big 8 title.
“This never gets old,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Lisa Zielinski. “I love to coach, and I love volleyball and love my team. They practice hard and work hard and it’s great to see them perform and be successful.”
Once against the Raiders were led by Notre Dame committed Isabella Sangha with eight kills and three blocks. Her front court teammate senior outside hitter Emmi Merhi added four kills and five digs.
The Raiders reeled off 11 consecutive points in the first set for a 21-5 lead mostly powered by their strength at the net.
“I think the biggest thing is our ability an offense that we can spread out and allow us to execute to separate us from other teams,” said Sangha. “This is a big factor for us on how aggressive we are. We don’t think anyone can beat us.”
The two-time defending Class 6A state champion struggled early in the second set due to serving issues. Midway through the set the Raiders settled down with seven consecutive points that built a 16-10 lead.
The Lions (10-11) never got closer than four points of the Aquinas lead.
“This part of us preparing for the postseason,” said Zielinski. “You can see the confidence and be consistent. We have higher expectations at this part of the season.”
Senior outside hitter Isabella Cabrera added four kills and four digs.
The Raiders will begin their defense of their 6A title during district play the week of Oct. 13.
Chaminade qualified for its first BCAA Big 8 tournament one week prior to the event.
“It was great to be part of the Big 8,” said Chaminade-Madonna coach Jason Johnson. “St. Thomas is a great team with a great tradition. I just wanted us to compete and I think we did a much better job in the second set.”
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.