Local Sports
Red Devils travel to Berkeley Prep
Highlands Today
Published: October 30, 2012
Berkeley Prep may be down a notch this year, which in this case means the Buccaneers are merely one of the top teams in the state regardless of classification, as opposed to being one of the top teams in the country.Published: October 30, 2012
With six players 5-foot-11 or taller, the Bucs provide a tough challenge for any team and tonight the Avon Park Red Devils will see how they stack up when they travel to Tampa for a regional quarterfinal game at Berkeley Prep. The Red Devils earned the No. 2 seed from Class 4A-District 10 after a three-set loss to DeSoto in the championship match.
It's been a year of transition for Berkeley Prep, as longtime coach Randy Dagostino stepped down after last season. He had been head coach of the Buccaneers for 28 years and led the team to 15 state championships, but stepped down from the top spot and turned the program over to longtime assistant coach John Coup.
Dagostino remains on board as a part-time helper to the team and earlier this month was honored when the Buccaneers name their floor Coach Dag Volleyball Court during a ceremony held on senior night.
The Buccaneers lost just three players from last year's state championship squad, but they included Dagostino's daughter Mackenzie Dagostino, who now players for the University of Maryland, as well as Jordan Burgess, the 2011-12 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year.
Berkeley Prep is led by junior Sidney Brown, who led the team with 362 kills and had a ,301 hitting percentage. Addison Harden, Logan Weldon and Maddie Raquet all tallied more than 100 kills on the season.
The Buccaneers had an .892 serving percentage as a team, making 107 aces, while committing 157 service errors on the year.
Corey Salzer led the Bucs with 292 digs, while Brown added 253. Maddie Alberdi led the Bucs with 750 assists on the year, as Berkeley Prep had 817 assists during the year.
The Red Devils have a well-balanced club, led by their three senior captians, Teresa Devlin, Ashley Chacon and Kayla Wilson. Otisha Smith, Marina Torres, Otaysha Smith and Maria Tataris see plenty of time on the floor, but Red Devils head coach Stephanie Devlin can always call on other talented players, such as Brianna Roque, Alexis Williams, and Haylee Rosario.
Coach Devlin knows that tonight's match will be a stiff test for her team, but was looking forward to the challenge.
"Berkeley Prep has an outstanding volleyball program and we know we're going to have our hands full," she said. "They've had great success for many years and we've got a lot of work to do .Hopefully we'll respond with a great effort because we have nothing to lose."
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