The Palm Beach Central High School boys volleyball team claimed victory over visiting Palm Beach Gardens High School on senior night before a capacity crowd on Wednesday, April 18. The Broncos avenged an earlier season loss to the Gators, winning in four sets (25-15, 25-22, 22-25, 25-16).
It was the Gators (5-9) that broke the ice in the first two sets, scoring first, but Palm Beach Central (16-3) settled down and controlled the tempo. The Broncos went on a four-point run to take the lead and eventually led 14-7 midway through the first set. Solid play at the net by seniors David Powers and Eduardo Brito made it difficult for the Gators to catch up.
The Broncos controlled the first set for the remainder and rolled to a 25-15 advantage. That momentum carried them into the second set, but a stubborn Gator squad pushed back with precision ball control, keeping it close. The Broncos ultimately took the second set 25-22 and needed just one more to take the match. However, Palm Beach Gardens had other plans.
The Gators battled back in the third set and won 25-22. The Broncos led briefly 10-7 early on, but the Gators were able to tie it up twice before eventually pulling ahead and winning the third set to stay alive.
Palm Beach Central led early on in the fourth set, but the Gators were relentless in closing the gap in an attempt to take the contest to a fifth set. Powers was instrumental in the fourth set for the Broncos. He had four key blocks that contributed to the victory.
Palm Beach Central pushed on to take the fourth 25-16 and the match. The Broncos improved to 16-3 on the season and have qualified for the district tournament.
For the Broncos, Connor Worontsoff had 7 blocks, 6 assists and 53 kills. Tate Davies recorded 16 kills and 8 digs.
