Wekiva volleyball honors five seniors

Wekiva volleyball’s senior night was filled with the emotions of celebrating a senior class, fighting through a four-set match and looking ahead to the future of a program still searching for its next breakthrough. 

The Mustangs battled the Edgewater Eagles on Thursday, Oct. 8, pushing the visitors through several tight sets before falling 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 19-25. Wekiva finished its regular season at 6-12, but the night offered a chance to recognize five seniors who have helped shape the program: setter Isabella Espada, libero Mikayla Rivera, right-side hitter Destiny Rosado, outside hitter Elyanna Sanchez and middle blocker Leona Salasek. 

Sanchez was unable to play because of an injury, while Rivera returned to the court after missing time since Wekiva’s match against Apopka. 

Before the match, coach Heather Lorenz acknowledged the mixed emotions surrounding the occasion, particularly with Sanchez unable to participate. 

“I’m proud of all of them,” Lorenz said. “It just hurts that we’re going to be missing Elyanna Sanchez. I know it’s going to be a hard night for her not to be on the court for Senior Night. It’s going to be a hard night for all of us with her not out there, but we do have Mikayla back, so that’s awesome.” 

Lorenz said she hoped the team could use the occasion to build momentum heading into the district tournament. 

“It feels surreal,” she said. “It’s happy moments, sad moments, but I just want them to play well as we have our JV kids up here with them, and to maybe push through a little bit to get us in a better spot in the district.” 

Espada started the match with back-to-back aces, and Wekiva stayed close early. She later set Isabella Mancilla for a kill before Avianna Mater delivered another point at the net. 

Edgewater responded with a run of kills to take a 10-8 lead, but a block from Ginia Reese briefly interrupted the Eagles’ momentum. The visitors continued to pull away, however, forcing a Wekiva timeout at 13-9. 

The Mustangs continued to battle. A long rally featured digs from Rivera and a save from Rosado before Mater finished with a powerful kill. Late points from Mancilla, Leona Salasek and Mater helped Wekiva keep the set competitive, but Edgewater closed it out 25-18. 

Wekiva answered in the second set. 

Mater opened with a kill, and Espada connected with Reese in the middle for another point. After the teams traded early points, Mancilla took over from the service line, delivering three consecutive aces to give Wekiva an 8-5 lead. 

Edgewater eventually regained the lead, but Wekiva continued to apply pressure. Rivera added an ace, and Mater scored with a spike off the hands of an Eagles blocker before winning another battle at the net to give Wekiva an 18-17 advantage. 

The Mustangs kept the pressure on. Reese and Mater combined for a block, and Rosado won a net battle to help Wekiva extend its lead. Reese later recorded a kill to put the Mustangs at set point. 

Edgewater made one last push, closing the gap to 24-23, but an Eagles hit sailed out of bounds to give Wekiva a 25-23 win and even the match at one set apiece. 

The Mustangs found themselves trailing early in the third set. Mancilla delivered two aces after an Edgewater run, and Salasek added a block while Reese found kills in the middle. 

Salasek later recorded two blocks to help Wekiva close the gap to 9-16. Mater added a block on the left side, and Mancilla delivered another ace as the Mustangs continued to chip away at the deficit. 

Wekiva pulled within two points late, and Mater added another cross-court kill. But a controversial late call went Edgewater’s way at 23-21 after a saved ball by the Mustangs was called out. Although Mater helped the Mustangs stay alive, the Eagles secured the set 25-23. 

The fourth set again showed Wekiva’s ability to respond under pressure. After Edgewater opened with two points, Reese and Mater recorded kills, and Espada served an ace to bring the Mustangs back into the set. 

Edgewater built another lead, but Mater continued to provide an offensive spark. Mancilla added a kill, and Salasek smashed a shot to tie the set at 8-8. Rivera then served an ace to put Wekiva ahead. 

The teams traded points before Edgewater used a pair of aces to build a 15-11 lead. Wekiva answered with more kills from Mater and an ace from Rivera, but the Eagles held on for a 25-19 victory to win the match. 

Mater finished with 17 kills, continuing a record-setting season for the junior. She has now recorded 155 kills, the most in a single season in Wekiva history. 

The milestone is particularly meaningful for Mater because she wants the record to serve as a target for future Mustangs rather than an untouchable mark. 

“I don’t want to be cocky, and I want to take it and I want to succeed in it, and I want it to be like a record for other players to look up to and want to beat,” Mater said. “I don’t want them to look down and be like, ‘Oh no, I can’t do that.’ I want them to look up to it and be like, ‘I’m gonna beat that record.’ Me setting that record made me really excited and happy. But for the next players coming, I want them to be excited to beat it.” 

Her connection with the senior class has made their departure difficult. Mater said she played club volleyball with two of the seniors for three years and learned from the others after joining Wekiva as a sophomore. 

“They’ve been amazing,” Mater said. “I think when we lose them it’s gonna be a struggle because we’re losing our setter and libero. But I think right now in place we have good players coming up that’ll be able to step into that spot. So it’ll be hard losing them, but it’ll be exciting to see where they go.” 

For Espada, the result mattered less than the unity the Mustangs showed on a night dedicated to the seniors. 

The senior setter said she spoke with the team before the match about playing together and treating one another like family. She felt the group accomplished that goal, regardless of the outcome. 

“Win or lose, this is my family at the end of the day,” Espada said. “The other four seniors, they’re like my family, and that’s what we wanted to accomplish, and we did.” 

The Mustangs now turn their attention to the Class 5A District 5 tournament. Wekiva enters as the sixth seed and will travel to face third-seeded Winter Springs (11-13) on Monday night in the first round.