Making their way to States for the first time in Palmetto volleyball history, the boys’ varsity team placed third. The team also beat Southwest and won Districts.

Defeated by Columbus on April 27, the team fell one victory short of triumph at the GMAC tournament. Earlier, however, they persevered to beat rival Southwest.

“The victory against Southwest tells us that we have the skills to beat them to get to States,” senior Co-Captain Kyle Schulz said.
The boys’ volleyball team has never reached States before and the players knew that they would have to beat Southwest again in Regionals in order to advance to States. That dream became a reality on May 10.

The teams battled hard against each other, taking the game to the final set. Palmetto found itself trailing 8 to 13 at one point. Then, the unthinkable happened. With sophomore Kory Schulz serving, Palmetto was able to come back and take the lead.

With the cheering crowd on its feet, Palmetto closed out the game to advance to States.

“The game was huge, because they are our rival team,” Kory Schulz said. “It could have gone either way, but we fought hard and we came out with a win.”

On May 13, the team traveled to Boca Raton where they battled for the state championship. The team came out victorious against Dr. Phillips High School, securing its spot in the semifinals scheduled for the next day, May 14. But when the team played Seminal Ridge High School the following day, they lost the match. Seminal Ridge won the entire competition.

“I’m proud of our team,” senior Michael Brown said. “We put Palmetto on the map as a state-contending team and even though we lost [in States], we went undefeated in Districts, and we beat Southwest in GMACs and in Regionals.”

There is no doubt that the team’s leadership and talent led them to their first state appearance. Co-Captains Daniel Berndt, Steven Moreno, Michael Palmar and Kyle Schulz contributed to this year’s success. Berndt and Schulz both made the All Star team and the First Team All-Dade. The two players were selected because they were the best players for that position in the county.

“It’s a great experience because we get to see a different level of volleyball that other schools can’t necessarily play,” Burndt said.

Even though Palmetto did not come out victorious at States, they are still winners because they have done something that has never been done before for the team: reaching states.