A celebratory senior night turned into a hard-fought five-set battle for the Wekiva Mustangs on Thursday. With their original opponent, Oak Ridge, unable to make the match, the Dr. Phillips Panthers answered the last-minute call and ended up spoiling Wekiva’s senior send-off with a 3-2 win (19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 15-6). 

Before the first serve, Wekiva honored its five seniors, Sarai McFadden, Diana McHellon, Asheley Touze, Tiana Washington, and Misha Mancilla for their hard work and dedication to the program. Families and friends packed into Wekiva’s gymnasium to celebrate the team’s final home match of the regular season. 

Wekiva opened the match with energy that matched the high spirits of senior night. Isabella Espada started the night strong at the service line with an ace, and McFadden quickly followed with kills off Espada’s sets and a solo strike off a Dr. Phillips volley. The Mustangs jumped out to a 7-2 lead and didn’t look back. 

Mancilla added a block and a kill as Wekiva’s frontline dominated early. Avianna Mater swung hard from the outside while Elyanna Sanchez ripped her first kill to make it 11-3. Espada’s floor leadership was key, spreading sets across four different hitters in the first frame. 

Dr. Phillips leaned on standout Luiza Cachel, who tried to rally the Panthers with several early kills and aces, but Wekiva’s balanced attack was too much. Ashley Touze joined in with two solo kills before Espada assisted Mater for the set-clinching point, 25-19. 

The “M-line” of McFadden, Mater, and Mancilla continued to control the net in the second set. McFadden opened with two aces and a kill, and Mater followed with a pair of powerful swings as Wekiva built a 10-3 advantage. Mancilla and Sanchez each added key points to keep the lead steady. 

Dr. Phillips once again turned to Cachel, who powered several kills past the block of Mancilla and Touze, trimming the deficit to two at 16-14. But McFadden answered with a booming kill and an ace to restore order. Washington checked in for the seniors and delivered a block at the net, helping Wekiva close the set 25-22 to go up 2-0. 

With momentum on their side, the Mustangs looked ready to finish the sweep, but Dr. Phillips refused to fold. Cachel and Saniah Burton led a surge in the third set, turning a 4-4 tie into a 12-5 lead after a string of Wekiva errors. 

Mater sparked a mini-comeback with two kills, and Washington added a block to bring it within four. The Mustangs fought back point by point, and Espada’s set to Sanchez for an ace trimmed it to 16-15. McFadden then traded kills with Cachel in a thrilling back-and-forth stretch that had both benches on their feet. 

Espada set McFadden for two more kills to take the lead 23-22, but the Panthers held firm. A defensive miscue tied it at 23, and Cachel put the finishing touch on the comeback with her 13th kill of the night, giving Dr. Phillips the set 25-23. 

That third-set loss drained Wekiva’s energy, and the Panthers seized the momentum. Cachel continued her onslaught in the fourth, piling up kills and aces as Dr. Phillips ran ahead 10-5. Grace Gordon and Sarah Costa each added key points as the Panthers extended their lead to 16-9, forcing a Wekiva timeout.

The break did little to stop the surge. Dr. Phillips closed the set on an 11-5 run, taking it 25-14 to even the match at two sets apiece. 

By the final and fifth set, the Panthers had all the energy. Wekiva’s mistakes piled up as Dr. Phillips raced out to a 9-1 lead behind Costa’s kill and two more aces from Cachel. Even after a McFadden kill made it 11-2, the Mustangs couldn’t recover. Cachel delivered one last devastating kill to close out the night, 15-6. 

The senior McFadden led the Mustangs with 13 kills, 3 blocks, and 3 aces, while Mater added 10 kills and Mancilla contributed 6 kills and a block. Espada’s floor command stood out with 30 assists, and Sanchez tallied 7 kills and 2 aces. Washington closed her senior night with 2 blocks. 

For Dr. Phillips, Cachel was the clear difference-maker, finishing with 20 kills and 5 aces, while Gordon and Costa combined for 9 kills. Isis Gonzalez and Milena Arruda set up all those kills and were efficient throughout the match. 

Wekiva finishes the regular season at 5-11. They are the sixth seed in the 6A District 4 postseason tournament. The Mustangs take on the three seed, Lake Buena Vista (9-8), at 6 p.m. Monday.