Orangewood Christian made the most of its final Class 2A volleyball match of the year on Thursday night. The Rams, No. 4 in the MaxPreps national rankings, dominated the fourth-ranked 2A team in the state, The First Academy, in a 25-17, 25-13, 25-15 victory in the District 4 championship match at home.
Now comes a new challenge. Orangewood (25-2), which is 19-0 against in-state teams, will be pulled out of 2A and into the Florida High School Athletic Association’s inaugural Open Division tournament. FHSAA power rankings will be updated to include district results and the top eight teams, regardless of classification, will be selected for the Open playoffs — which begin with the first of three rounds of pool play on Wednesday.
“I really think it’s going to be fun,” said Orangewood senior standout Isabel Incinelli, who was nearly unstoppable Thursday. “It will be for the best of the best. All of Florida, not just in your division.”
The FHSAA is scheduled to unveil the brackets for all classes via its YouTube channel on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Two Orlando area teams, 6A District 5 champ Winter Park (21-6) and 6A-3 DeLand (23-3), were in the top eight in last week’s rankings and are projected to join Orangewood in the Open format.
TFA had no answer for the Rams’ stellar serving and power on the pins generated by Incenelli, Ellie Enger and twin sisters Kaleigh and Kennedy Langmo.
Incinelli’s impressive jump serve fueled a 5-0 run that broke the first set open. In the second game it was setter Avery Herman who served up nine consecutive points after TFA took a short-lived 5-2 lead. And Olivia Sosa scored four straight service points to erase a 7-4 Royals lead in the final game.
Orangewood knocked TFA out of the 2A playoffs in the past two years. But with the Rams no longer in that 32-team bracket, the Royals have a chance to make a run.
“This was a great opportunity for us to get ready for next week,” third-year TFA coach Amanda Serpa said after Thursday’s loss. “Nothing is going to be easy in the playoffs.”
Region quarterfinals are Tuesday for 1A-3A teams and Wednesday for 4A-6A squads.
Jordyn Lehman set a Winter Park (21-6) record with 511 career digs in the 6A-5 final win vs. Boone.
Kohen Kazmierczak had 46 assists, 18 digs, 8 kills, 4 aces and 3 blocks for DeLand (24-3) in its 6A-3 victory.
Oviedo (24-3) outlasted upset-minded Seminole 27-25, 25-15, 20-25, 19-25, 16-14 in a 6A-4 final that went the distance.
Freedom (19-6) came from behind twice to claim the first title in program history with its 17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13 win against St. Cloud in 6A-7. Freedom’s second-year coach Ettie Singleton previously coached St. Cloud.
Arianna Delgado had 41 assists for Horizon (22-3) in its 6A-6 title win.
Osceola (21-6) came from behind to beat Kissimmee rival Gateway 25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-8 for the 5A-6 title. Gateway (20-3) has lost 34 matches in a row against the Kowboys dating to 2008.
Montverde Academy (13-12) toppled top seed Lake Highland Prep 3-1 to win 3A-6.
International Community (11-9) defeated Geneva School in a roller coaster 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 13-25, 15-13 match for the 1A-7 title. Mount Dora (12-9) won 4A-5 and Foundation (17-8) won 2A-6.
In Friday matches, 4A No. 1 Bishop Moore (18-6) hosted Satellite (20-5) in the 4A-6 final; and Lake Howell (17-10) hosted Winter Springs (13-13) in 5A-5.
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.