After 20 years, The King's Academy are once again state champs

GOLDEN LAKES, Fla. — In the gym at The Kings Academy, a strong serve sets the tone; the Lions are always on the prowl, and what they’ve been hunting for for years is a regional title. “You just don’t know how far ahead the competition is and how strong it’s going to be, so we were always watching film and just preparing ourselves,” said Head Coach, Bethany Avila, who prepared her girls for a showdown with the powerhouse Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, and they beat them 3-0. “I think we all just worked really hard at practice, knowing that we could do anything we put our minds to,” said setter, Jordan Molnar. With their biggest obstacle out of the way, the girls were looking at a state championship title as they took on Pine Crest. “It was definitely something that we had as a goal from the beginning of the season, to get that trophy. And I think it was something we all knew we could do, and we were going to do it,” said pin hitter Miranda Knoll. Got to love the confidence, but the girls had a tough challenge in Pine Crest High School standing in their way. They immediately took the first set, but Pine Crest took the second, and we had a matchup. Then, in the fourth and final set, Anabelle Bencosme hit Pine Crest with the dagger to bring home the first championship in 20 years. “I definitely shed a few tears, but nothing like that. It was definitely emotional for me personally it was my last volleyball game ever so it was really beautiful and special that the ending got to be the final game us being number one,” said Ava Maldonado, middle blocker.