The Steinbrenner volleyball team won the elite division silver bracket at the Orlando Volleyball Academy’s Dig Pink Tournament Oct. 14-15, while Freedom took second in the classic division gold.
The Warriors (20-4) went 4-1 at the event, defeating Alachua Santa Fe and Longwood Lyman in pool play, but lost to Apopka. The loss sent Steinbrenner to the silver bracket instead of the gold.
The Warriors bounced back to beat Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest 25-22, 25-22 in the silver semifinals before defeating Jacksonville Creekside 25-13, 25-22 in the finals.
The only other Hillsborough County team to play in the elite division was Sickles, which took third in the bronze bracket.
In total, 48 teams from across Florida participated at the event, 16 in each of the three divisions.
Freedom (16-7) was the only other area squad to play in the event, going 4-1 in the classic division and finishing as the gold bracket runner-up. The Patriots defeated Sebring 25-14, 25-10 in the semis before losing to Fort Lauderdale University 25-16, 25-19 in the finals.
Freedom has two more regular season matches, Oct. 18 at King and Oct. 19 against Jefferson, before the Class 7A-District 9 tournament, which will also include Steinbrenner. The Warriors’ final match before districts is at home against Armwood. All matches at 7 p.m.
Steinbrenner enters districts as the No. 1 seed, while Freedom is No. 2. The 7A-9 championship match is at Gaither on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
–Kyle LoJacono
